Shadows of Torment
by Kaitlin Klein
Summary: Kurtis seeks the help of Lara Croft to aid him in finding an artifact that can renew the Lux Veritatis before an ancient evil, who wishes him dead, can succeed in destroying the entire clan, and in turn, destroy the world. (Takes place after AOD)
1. A Warm Welcome

**Lara Croft:Tomb Raider and all characters associated with this title do not belong to me, but to Eidos Interactive**

**This is my first Tomb Raider story, and I hope everyone enjoys it. It's rather lengthy, and I hope to write a sequel if I get enough response from it.**

Chapter One

He brushed the slightly lengthened black hair out of his eyes as he quickly turned the throttle. The motorcycle leapt forward so abruptly that the man was almost thrown from his seat at the change of speed. He calmly steadied himself and continued onward, his grip around the handlebars somewhat tightening.

"_Only a few more miles."_ he thought to himself. He felt a pain surge through his waist and quickly glanced toward its source. The bandage he had used earlier to cover the nearly fatal stab wound, which ran completely through his body, had failed. Its color was no longer a soothing white, but a dark, curdled red.

In an instant dream, created by the loss of blood, the road disappeared and all he could see was Boaz, the monstrosity that had inflicted this pain upon him. He recalled their battle, and his stupidity when he had let his guard down; a direct cause of her sharp, spear-like arm, stabbing completely through his abdomen. The pain returned as the memories began to fade.

His eyelids fluttered with fatigue, and as fast as the visions had appeared within his mind, they were gone, and all that remained was an approaching tree.

"Shit!" the man yelled as he swerved to miss the solid structure rapidly coming toward him, no longer within a dream, but threatening his life. He turned the bike as hard as he could, directing it away from the large trunk. He cleared the tree by barely a foot, but his speed quickly caught up with him. The motorcycle instantly fell to its side, forced to the ground by its velocity, and skidded across the asphalt roadway. The man quickly bailed before he was caught between the two, and was nearly crushed under the weight of the metal structure between his legs.

His body tossed violently against the hard ground, thrown like a rag-doll, until his forced movement finally halted in a nearby ditch. He was motionless for several seconds as his thoughts were blank. His mind then panicked as it caught on to what was happening.

His arms met his stomach as he winced in pain. Blood poured onto his hands and the visions around him slightly blurred from his sudden _vacancy_ from the vehicle, and the shock of being thrown fifty feet though the air. Along with the lightheadedness of his mind, the feeling in his limbs was completely gone, faded out by the unbearable pain at his waist.

This wasn't going to happen, it couldn't be possible; him, lying in a ditch only minutes from his destination, slowly bleeding to death when help was so near? It _was _going to happen however; the pain was too much, unless he could move.

His muscles tensed as he closed his eyes, trying to force-

Impossible. His physical strength was rendered useless as his heart began to abandon him. _"No!" _his mind offered help. He had to try.

The man knew he couldn't stand, it was too difficult. He would have to crawl, have to crawl to survive.

But he didn't want to survive, didn't want to continue forward; he wanted to sleep, wanted to close his eyes and drift into a neverending abyss of darkne-

"_Stop!"_ his mind forced his eyes to reopen. _"You're almost there. You're almost there._" his thoughts urged his body to continue despite his weakened state. He forced his hands forward, gripping his fingers within the dry ground. The rough surface tore at his wound like sharpened knives, causing his face to grimace with every pull of his arms, every strain of his muscles as he desperately inched his body forward. He ignored the pain, the fiery chill that burned throughout his body, making him lose hope, making him want to give up. He hadn't gone far when he did.

The torn body fell flat against the hard earth, its eyes slowly giving in to the heaviness that eagerly pressed upon them, daring the man to fall asleep, a sleep he would never awaken from. The lids fell, welcoming death, closing over his-

The eyes turned wide as his lips parted with surprise and hope. He saw them, something he had never seen before in his life, but something he had never been so happy to see now.

The gates stood before him, their presence blinded to him before from his disoriented vision, but now made clear by the two old-fashioned street lights that lined the gate-wall's corner, shining brightly against his face, showing him the way.

He was so close, too close to give up now. He forced his hands forward once again, crawling for what seemed an eternity, pushing the pain aside, fighting just to breath...until his hand finally brushed against the towering metal grating of the Croft Estate.

He had made it, made it to the one place where his life would be spared, where his wounds would be mended.

He would never reach that place however, he would never reach it because he hadn't noticed the large chain lock that was wrapped around the gate's center, preventing his entrance, preventing him from being saved.

He lowered his head with disappointment as he sighed with disbelief. There was nothing he could do. His instincts forced him to search his surroundings, desperately hoping for a miracle. The wall was at least 12 feet tall, a fact that truly didn't matter though; the barrier could have been a mere 3 inches and he still wouldn't have been able to scale it, his current condition making such an effort impossible before it was even attempted. He couldn't just lay here, he had to do something, simply because their was no chance of him surviving through the night without help. He knew how his _abilities_ would weaken him, and probably kill him if he wasn't careful, but what choice did he have?

He gathered the remaining strength that he had and desperately lifted his hand, placing it where the two doors met. He closed his eyes with pain and concentration, focusing his mind on the task at hand, on clearing his path to the mansion before him and getting to the person inside. The mere thought of her made him feel stronger, pushing him harder to make it than ever before.

His thoughts were disrupted as a noise sounded in front of him, the sound of an object falling hard against the thick cobblestone driveway. He stared at the source, the broken lock that had previously held the gates together, the thick iron chain quickly falling to the ground beside it.

He gritted his teeth with relief, a smile was too painful to muster. He pushed his hands forward, parting the enormous iron doors. He forced himself to keep going with the thoughts of his father, his clan the Lux Veritatis, and of how mankind needed him, how _she_ needed him. The memories of her making every painful inch toward the mansion worth it, making his life worth it. She could help him, she was the _only_ one who could help him, the only one who could help the world. He couldn't fail, not like this, he had to continued on.

The thoughts had made his pain and anguish disappear, and had made his desperate movements toward the door more rapid.

He stared forward, a forced smile across his face. He'd made it; the mansion was before him, its wooden doors calling him inside.

He gripped the brick wall that lined the large doorway, straining his weakened muscles and pulling himself to a stand, his happiness hiding the pain. He sighed heavily with relief as he balanced himself, holding his weight against the wall.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply as he slowly moved his bloodied hands toward the doorbell of Croft Manor.

(-)

The lady Lara Croft should have been resting, a fact that her elderly butler Winston reminded her of constantly throughout the night. She had just returned from a quite tiresome conflict in Prague, but as usual she disregarded the man's words and was rambling through all of the books in her library searching for information on the Nephilim, the Cabal, and most of all, the Lux Veritatis. It had been several weeks since her _episode_ and she couldn't help but relieve her curiosity of the situation. She had so many questions, and none were being answered by these pointless books. She wanted to be prepared in case all of it came back to bite her in the ass, and the fact that she wasn't getting anywhere frustrated her to the point of anger. She would've given anything for Kurtis Trent to be alive. He could answer so many of her questions about the entire ordeal, explain so many of the confusing possibilities that were baffling just to think about. She glanced at the grandfather clock in the library's corner. It was quarter after midnight; maybe she _should_ get some rest.

A yawn left her lungs as she stretched her arms above her head, soothing the muscles that ached from hours of stillness. She quickly left her comforted seat beside the fireplace, ready to leave the room's soothing warmth. She shut off the lights as she left the space, walked through the music room without a thought, and entered into the main hall. Her mind constantly spurred as she continued toward her bedroom, prodding with possibilities of her unanswered questions. She was near the door to her bedchamber when the familiar chimes of someone bothering her suddenly rang throughout the house.

"_Who could that be?"_ she asked herself, knowing a visit at such a late hour could not be one of a casual hello. She eyed the main door that called to her with curiosity before starting down the large staircase toward the home's entrance. Her feet met the base of the main floor as she quickly started toward the cedar doors before her, her ears listening carefully for suspicious movement behind them. She hesitated a moment as she stared, deciding against simply opening the door without a mere assumption as to who was on the other side.

Her hands instinctively wavered to her thighs, her fingers meeting the leather holsters placed there, making sure that she was armed. Her 9mm pistols hung in their familiar places, waiting until their aid was called for. She was ready for anything.

"Who is it?" she questioned her visitor. "What do you want?"

A silence was her answer.

Lara waited several seconds without receiving a response, and finally decided to go against her thoughts of danger, slowly backing away from the door, presuming that there was an electrical fault within the bell's wiring.

Her motions instantly stopped as she felt an eerie presence enter her mind, her hands lowering to her holsters once again. The chimes had rang loudly a second time throughout the house. She slowly inched her body back toward the double doors, timidly studying them, confusion and fear in her thoughts. She cautiously neared the entrance again, her fingers gripping tightly around the holstered guns. She repeated her question as to who was bothering her once more, receiving the same silent results.

Lara unstrapped one of the guns from her side and lifted it head level, pointing it at the door. She slowly reached forward, ready to face the person that stood behind the wooden barrier before her, either a threat to her life or a person incapable of speaking. Her fingers swiftly ran over the door's chain lock, removing it.

She backed away.

Lara steadied her pistol as the door slowly crept open, fixing her legs into a sturdy stance, ready to face the entity that waited for her. Her eyes met the outside world as the door reached the extent of its hinges.

Her brows arched with confusion. There was nothing there, only darkness. She lowered her gun without understanding as she stepped slightly forward, cautiously-

Lara gasped as a figure suddenly fell from the shadows, forcing itself upon her. Reacting instantly, she shoved her arms forward, knocking her attacker away. She quickly raised her pistol once again, ready to fire.

Her motions instantly stopped with surprise as she stared, realizing that her attacker was a man, not simply in gender but a man she knew. The bright blue eyes were unmistakable. This was the man who had betrayed her in Paris, and saved her life in Prague. This was the man she had desperately searched for at the Strahov, but had finally concluded on was dead. This man was Kurtis Trent.

She started to lower her gun though her stare remained, friendly thoughts of relief within her mind. She couldn't; something deep inside told her not to, told her to stay focused, to keep her aim. The vision of Karel in the form of this figure dug itself into her mind, the vision of a betrayal she could never forgive. The memory made her refuse to trust him. She had no idea if this was the real Kurtis Trent, if their was a real one at all. But what if he was? Could she take that chance? How would she ever be sure?

Her thoughts were broken by a familiar voice.

"Lara," Kurtis spoke in a tone so soft that she could barely hear him. "You have to help me." His vision was so distorted that he didn't even notice the gun barrel only inches from his forehead.

"What are you doing here?" Lara asked with fear and surprise. She had to fool him with her words, had to find out if the man in her doorway was the nephilim Karel, his evil frame simply hidden within a familiar face. His responses would give him away. "You're dead. The energy killed you."

Kurtis could barely focus, and the fact that Lara was making no sense confused him even more. "What?" he questioned her words before starting forward.

"Stop!" Lara shouted as the figure began toward her, she gripped her pistol tightly. She couldn't let the nephilim inside. She wanted the advantage if he attacked. "Don't come any closer!"

"What are you doing?" His confusion had turned into fear of her strange actions. "It's me. Kurtis."

"Bullshit."

Kurtis stared at her without understanding. Why was she acting like this? Why didn't she recognize him? He started to make another comment, but was forced to stop before the words could form as his body fell hard to the floor, unconsciousness taking his fragile mind and wounded body.

Lara backed away as the figure fell forward, his mind giving in to its weakened state. She had been so caught up in the moment that she hadn't noticed the unbelievable amount of blood that covered the intruder's clothing and skin. She cautiously went to his now motionless body, searching for signs of life. Convinced that the unconsciousness wasn't an act, she gently placed her forefinger against the side of the man's neck. His pulse was extremely weak and he was barely breathing, which was amazing considering all the blood he had lost. If she didn't act quickly, Kurtis, who she'd have liked to believe it was, wouldn't be alive the following day.

She heard a sudden noise ring out behind her, and quickly spun, her pistol leveled once again. She lowered the weapon immediately as the figure became known to her eyes, the elderly form of Winston.

The butler ignored her overly anxious act, continuing toward her, never halting even when the gun barrel had been aimed at his head.

"What is going-" he cut himself off at the sight of the lifeless body on the floor. "Oh my God. Who is he? What is he doing here?"

Lara gave a simple "I'm not sure" and continued looking Kurtis over, thinking of the best way to treat the many wounds he held, the fastest way. She quickly turned to Winston "Get me some bandages, something for his pain-" she hesitated with thought, "-and some rope."

Winston stared at her with confusion at her last request, but he didn't question it. He had come to expect such demands from Lara Croft, he accepted them.

He quickly left her side, retrieving all that she asked of him before hurriedly returning, giving her the medical items, and her other, more radical request.

Lara quickly put the supplies to use as Winston returned. She removed the blood drenched shirt from the motionless man's frame, and then the pitiful excuse for a bandage that covered his stab-like wound. She quickly poured disinfectant across his minor scrapes and bruises, applied new gauze to the more serious ones, and finally gave him a shot of morphine, not caring if the extra dosage killed him or not.

After she had finished, and was satisfied that he would live at least one more day, she and Winston carefully carried him to an extra bedroom on the main floor, not wanting to risk a venture up the stairs.

Once inside the new bedchamber, she put the rope to use, bounding Kurtis's arms and legs tightly to the frame of the bed, careful not to harm him in the process, and making sure his position wouldn't injure his stomach further while he slept. Confident that he wasn't going anywhere, she curiously eyed the supplies she had taken from him. It wasn't much, a small side-pouch with a few miscellaneous items inside and a serrated knife. She was more interested in the shoulder holster he had worn. She stared at it, his preferred weapon still inside. She had never seen a gun like it in all her life. The shape of the barrel seemed to hold a overly large round, though the clip was extremely over-packed; there were at least 20 shots to each one. She shook her head, wondering where he had acquired such a weapon. Maybe she _did_ have reason to be suspicious of him. A sigh erupted from her vocals as she collected his few things and went to leave the room. Winston stopped her.

"Do you know this man?" he asked with curiosity, wondering where the intruder had come from, and why Lara felt so compelled to help him.

"Maybe." Lara answered with hesitance. "We'll find out tomorrow."

She watched with strange thoughts as Winston left the room. She stared at the calm figure strung to the bed in the corner. She felt bad for leaving him this way, tied and bound, his body awkwardly placed despite its fragile state. Why was he here? Even if he had survived the Strahov, there was no reason for him to come back to her. It didn't make sense.

She felt scared as she watched him. He had remained a mystery to her during their previous encounters; she barely knew him. Yet he was here now, returning to her for help, or something else perhaps. She smiled _"Maybe I left an impression."_ Her eyes focused on his features, slightly distorted with scars and blood stains. She had no doubt saved his life. _"Just returning the favor,"_ her mind spoke coldly, forgetting her earlier thoughts when she had wished he was alive. There was something more to his arrival than a casual return; his condition was proof of that.

Her stare remained on him, the dark hair and rugged presence took her back to Prague, took her back to their few moments together when they had become spontaneous partners. She had had no idea who this mysterious man was at the time, but did she know him now?

"No." she spoke aloud. She had no time for petty trust. She would question him once he awoke, and find out everything she needed. She couldn't take any risks for him, couldn't untie him just because he had a pretty face, and a body to-

She quickly shook her head to rid herself of the thought and forced her eyes to leave Kurtis's figure. She shut off the room's light and quietly shut the door, leaning her back against it once it was closed. She thought in silence for a moment, thinking of the best way to question him once he came into consciousness. She wished he were awake, she had so many curiosities that needed clearing up. She had no idea when he would awaken, but patience is a virtue, and she would have to practice it. She sighed.

"_Just wait until tomorrow."_

Lara quickly kicked herself away from the wall and returned to the main hall. She told Winston to leave the bloodstain that covered the carpet until the morning, and she casually started up the immense stairway, directing herself to her bedroom. She would _have_ to wait until tomorrow, and then, her and Kurtis Trent would unite once again, and this time, there wouldn't be a gun involved.

Hopefully.

**A/N: I've added a few paragraphs to the end to give a better feeling of Lara's thoughts, but nothing major. I think I fixed everything, but I've officially started my editing stage now, and here's the final Chapter 1. I'm also gonna name my chapters as well, so things won't be as confusing.**


	2. Interrogation

Chapter 2

Darkness slowly faded into an eerie light as tired eyes began to open. The brightness quickly spread as the pupils adjusted, the vision turning into a flat plane decorated with abrasions and texture, a ceiling.

Kurtis sighed deeply as unconsciousness flew from his mind, his body awakening from a terrible happening of some kind, a happening he preferred not to recall, an event he had never expected to wake up from. He stared at the white tile above him, wondering where he was. It was a bedroom of some kind; his mind was well enough to know that. But where, where was this bedroom in which he lay? Had he made it to Croft Manor? Was he even alive? He wasn't sure.

Kurtis felt a pain attack his side and quickly moved his hands to-

The motion was impossible; he couldn't move. It wasn't the pain that stopped him however, it was something else. He searched his arms for the cause of his immobility.

His eyes met the thick ropes, wrapped tightly around his limbs, holding them to the frame of a bed. He stared at them with confusion. Why was he tied up?

"What the hell?" He asked himself as he stared.

The thought was interrupted however, as a motion caught his attention at the room's entrance. His movements stopped at what he saw in the doorway. He was silent.

A familiar presence entered his mind as he stared at her. She looked different than he recalled, not in her features but in another way, something he wasn't sure of. Maybe it was the absence of the "raiding" clothes he now associated her with. She wore a simple white tank top, bathing robe, and matching night-pants. Though her outfit had changed, two elements of the clothing he remembered remained; she held the familiar 9mm loosely in her right hand, and the long braided hair over her shoulder.

"Good morning." her strong yet elegant voice spoke, accompanied by a sarcastic and almost hateful smile.

Kurtis was hesitant as he watched her slowly enter the room. He stared at her large brown eyes, trying to read her emotions. There was none. "What happened last night? Why I am I tied up?" he asked with urgency.

His questions were ignored by the woman before him as she continued to walk casually toward the bed. She leaned over his injured form and stared directly in his eyes, her actions confusing him even more.

Lara sighed as she gazed at him; those were the eyes, there was no mistaking them. She had never seen anything like them before. They shimmered bright blue in an almost hypnotizing way, beckoning her to come toward him, to get closer. She was almost convinced it was him simply because of them.

It wasn't enough for her however. She needed some questions answered immediately. She needed to trick him, she needed to know the truth, the truth based on more than the color of his eyes.

"Maybe you_ are_ Kurtis." she spoke as her stare continued, her mind searching for deceiving words. "Karel would've freed himself by now, unless he was too weak."

Kurtis's features conformed with confusion. Why was she talking about Karel? What did _he_ have to do with anything? "Karel, what-"

"And, if you were Karel," Lara's sudden rambling thoughts cut him off, "you would've had the shards the entire time, and you never would've given them to me."

"What-"

"You wouldn't have fought that monstrosity Boaz either." she interrupted once again, her words no longer trying to trick the man before her, but trying to convince herself. "Hence you wouldn't be here wounded right now."

"It's Kurtis. What's wrong with you?"

Lara cut her own thoughts off. She was starting to make sense to herself. This couldn't be Karel, she had just stated all the proof she needed.

It wasn't enough. She had to be sure.

"Where did you take the painting from me!" she harshly asked him, knowing that Karel would never know the answer.

Kurtis just stared at her blankly, more confused than ever, "What?"

"The fourth painting! When did you steal it from me?"

"In the Louvre." he answered. She was scaring him, "Right after you found it."

"And what did I take from you there?" Lara continued, another interrogation.

"M-My Shard." he stuttered "My perhiapt shard."

It was Kurtis, it had to be, Karel would never have known all of these details, unless Kurtis never existed. _Everything_ was a possibility. She had to think, had to think of every time her and Kurtis had been together. All those moments could've been a lie, a fake representation of everything she had thought was real; from the time she had first seen him in the café, to his _frisking_ her up in the Louvre. She was so confused. How could she-

Her thoughts suddenly jumped. She recalled the bio-research facility. When boaz had been _eaten_ by that pod, Karel was there, but she had met Kurtis only minutes later. It hit her, the weight was gone. That was proof, proof that Kurtis Trent wasn't just some figment of Joachim Karel's imagination, but an actual person, a life within the world.

She turned to him, her thoughts forcing a grin. It instantly faded. Just because there was a Kurtis Trent didn't mean that Karel had never used the man's face as a disguise. There could easily have been two of them, the same body with a different mind controlling it. An evil Kurtis, and one she would like to believe was good. But which one was this?

She had to question him further.

"What about Eckhardt?" she asked with impatience and anxiety. "Why did you go after him?"

That question tore Kurtis inside. Lara knew the answer, why torture him? "Because he killed my father." The words left his tongue with absolutely no feeling or expression. He stared at her, tired of these questions and tired of her strange ways. The confusion was making him sick, not mentally but physically. His body felt weak as the world blurred once again. He shook his head, trying to ease away the dizziness. "Wh-What does this have to do with anythi?"

Before the words could finish, darkness prevailed, unconsciousness consuming him once again.

-

The darkness melted a second time as the light met Kurtis's eyes, his mind coming back into consciousness. His thoughts had slowed, taking several seconds to remember where he was, to remember Lara and her strange interrogation. The pain had not followed his consciousness however, it hadn't faded at all. He cupped his head with his hands, now free from their previous restrains. He felt dizzy, his body slightly numb, the world spinning around him The bland taste of blood graced his tongue and he could feel his heart beat pulsating through his head. In other words, he felt like shit.

He slightly jumped as a movement quickly paced across his shoulder. He grabbed the object which he instantly realized was a hand. It was jerked away.

"Well apparently you're feeling better." The familiar voice sounded beside him, its owner hovered over him, dressing his stomach wound. His vision slowly cleared as he shook his head, trying to delay the lightheadedness. He stared at her as his senses focused, taking in the woman that was helping him. The dark brown eyes and full lips comforted him, allowing him to relax, knowing he was safe, knowing he was with a friend, someone who wasn't trying to kill him, the _only_ person who wasn't trying to kill him.

He praised himself for making it this far, though he knew it was only the beginning. What he had endured over the last few weeks was a fucking vacation compared to what was ahead.

Lara remained quiet as she wrapped the final dressing around the wound that sat at her fingertips. She knew Kurtis would appreciate the quiet, she knew all the pain that he was in. Her eyes waned up the form of his chest, stopping at his shoulder, involuntarily directed their by something that didn't belong, an object that stood out against the white skin, a black symbol marked with ink, a permanent addition to his body that he had added on sometime in his life.

"Nice tattoo." Lara stated, as she stared at the figure embedded in the flesh. She had never seen such a symbol before, but she admired its beauty. The mark was simply a circle quartered by a cross. Though plain, the picture was astonishing. The complete detail of the figure was more precise than any tattoo she had ever seen before. Her eyes fixated on the circle. She swore that she saw tiny images throughout the black ring, images of battles and of ancient sorcery.

Kurtis, seeing her staring at the mark on his shoulder, quickly jerked away, covering it with his hand.

Lara rolled her eyes at his childish act, but smiled to herself as his motions caused him to utter with slight pain. She forced the smile away, realizing that she was being childish as well. "What happened to your stomach?" she asked in an almost pitying tone.

Kurtis simply said "Boaz," and she understood.

An awkward silence prevailed after his words, one that Lara felt obligated to break, her actions during the previous night and earlier that morning still unexplained. "I'm sorry about earlier. I thought you-" she stopped with correction "-the _real_ you, was dead. I had to be sure."

"Why did you think I was Karel?"

"He was a Nephilim." she quickly replied, trying to be subtle.

Kurtis's brows conformed with confusion at her words.

"He told me he'd helped me throughout Paris and Prague in different forms." She explained to him, staring in his eyes. "One of those forms was you."

"Karel was a nephilim?" Kurtis asked in disbelief, not even hearing her latter statement.

Lara nodded.

"Then why did Eckhardt need the Sleeper?"

"Eckhardt wasn't in charge. He didn't even kill Werner." she answered Kurtis's questions freely, then realized that she had never mentioned her former mentor before. It didn't matter though, Kurtis wasn't interested in the more personal details, the ones that weren't _his_ of course. She continued. "Karel was the leader the entire time. He did everything."

Kurtis looked at her with concern, a sudden thought of worry making itself known. "You destroyed him right?"

Lara simply nodded her head before turning away, her mind, in truth, was unsure.

Kurtis stared at her, knowing that her answer had been less than completely sincere. "Well it seems you doubted that a few hours ago."

Lara didn't answer his statement, not wanting to admit her doubt. She felt bad for not caring for his wounds sooner, felt bad for suspecting him of being the dark creature. She decided to change the subject.

"After the Sleeper was gone, I came back to look for you." Lara affectionately began, "I found a pool of blood, and that spiraled weapon you carried around."

Kurtis looked to her with surprise at her words. "You have my churigai?"

"Yeah," Lara answered, assuming that he was talking about the strange object she had found in Boaz's lair, the object that she had been threatened by at the Louvre. She grabbed her backpack from the chair beside her and quickly dug through its contents, slowly taking out a circular object lined with teeth-like blades. She cautiously handed it to him, forcing herself to trust him. She shook her head with recollection. "When I picked it up it started reacting, moving around as if it was directing me to something."

"It was." he answered, twirling the ancient weapon in his hand. His eyes met forcefully with her own as he smiled "Me."

"But you weren't there." Lara shot back, not understanding "I searched the entire place twice. I came to the conclusion that either you never existed, or that Boaz had completely devoured you."

"I don't really know what happened." Kurtis answered, just as confused. "The faint things I _do_ remember are faded. I remember getting up to look for you. I remember a cavern, and some sort of laboratory. Then I woke up in a truck at the Strahov, and came here."

A sudden burst of pain in Kurtis's waist stopped the conversation. Lara quickly tended to it.

"You know," Lara spoke softly, half sincere. "you're lucky to be alive. A stab wound like this should've killed you."

"She didn't stab me," Kurtis replied harshly, angry at himself, "she fucking impaled me on her arm."

"Her arm?" Lara asked, trying to remember. She didn't recall the monster having arms.

"After I killed that bug thing," he explained, "The _real_ Boaz-or what was left of her- climbed out of it and charged me." he paused, his thoughts soaring with horrid memories, "Damn she was fast."

"How did she get you?"

"I was an idiot." Kurtis quickly answered with a fake smile "I thought she was dead, so I started to leave." He paused, shaking his head "Next thing I know, I'm on the floor dying. I got that bitch's head though."

They stared at each other for a moment, contemplating the person sitting before them, creating assumptions of the other's life, their plans for the future, and who's side they were truly on. Other than that, their minds-

The moment was interrupted as a shriek of pain left Kurtis's lungs. He angrily threw himself backwards, sick of this horrid pain, growing impatient with himself.

"Don't!" Lara loudly instructed him as she placed her hands across his chest, trying to calm his emotions. "You'll hurt it further."

Kurtis was angry at himself, angry that he was so helpless now, so powerless because of his idiotic decisions. "I can't believe this!"

Lara smiled to herself despite Kurtis's anger, her mind playing with him. "Well this is all your fault you know?"

Kurtis's movement stopped as he comprehended her words. He looked up at her, surprised.

"Yeah," she jokingly continued, "you should've been paying attention. You should've known better than to turn your back on the enemy."

She looked at him in a serious manner, until her lips parted, a slight laugh interrupting her stern features. She was amused at his reaction to her putting him down.

"Thanks for helping me out there." she continued, holding the smile, remembering how he had helped her escape from the pit that had contained the beast who'd injured him, an act that had no doubt saved her life.

Kurtis shook his head, returning her smile, "I should be thanking _you_." he stated, then paused, "So-thanks-a lot."

They stared at one another, the smiles remaining.

Lara's disappeared.

"I was thinking," She began, wanting to satisfy her curiosity "that after you were _impaled_, why did you come here?"

Kurtis didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"Well, wouldn't the Lux Veritatis be able to help you more than I can?"

Kurtis lowered his head at the words.

"I'm not saying I don't want you here," she quickly answered, worried she had offended him. "but wouldn't their powers come in handy? I know that Eckhardt killed most of them, but surely you would've known where the rest were. "

"That's impossible" he spoke with a fake grin "Eckhardt didn't just kill my father and a few others, he killed my entire clan. I'm the last of the Lux Veritatis."

-

The figure daintily tucked her chin-length blonde hair behind her ears as she walked briskly up the stairs of the Culdas Cathedral in Zurich. Her rugged hands met the thick cedar doors of the church's entrance as she pushed them forward, opening a path into the sacred place, its purpose recently conformed into one more of her liking by the person in charge, no longer a place of worship but a place of evil.

Her hands wavered steadily at her sides, slightly moving back in forth with the steady beat of her walk as she paced casually down the cathedral's immense hallway, coming closer to its far end with every step of her thick leather boots. The shoes were black, worn to match the cat suit that graced her figure, currently covered by a think suede coat, keeping away the coldness of the outside air.

She wore a grin across her face as her eyes met the person she had been searching for, the prevailing figure adorned in the deeply colored satin hood, dark red to match the fiery color of hatred held in his eyes, and in her own.

She halted her advance as she grew closer to him, knowing that he had sensed her presence. She lowered her body, connecting one of her knees softly with the floor, making her orderly stance under him known.

"Master." She spoke calmly in a misguided voice, loud in its presence but with the softness of a whisper. She stared at the ground, waiting for his response.

The silence was enough. Verification that he was not going to kill her, or command the other hooded figures that surrounded him to take her away. She smiled. "Our contact in Surrey has proven his worth." she spoke, never taking her eyes from the Master's feet. "The final Veritatis warrior has been spotted there, exactly where we had predicted."

"The Croft estate?" the hooded figure spoke with anxiousness, his voice carrying the same distant loudness as the figure kneeling before him.

The woman nodded, the smile growing wider.

"I'm guessing that you saw him." The figure continued. "The fact that it's Kurtis Trent would explain your smile."

Her face slightly flustered. "Yes it does. I've been waiting to see him for some time, never thought _he_ would be the one that the Veritatis would choose."

The hooded figure turned away from her, slightly pacing with thought. "I want you to kill him." He spoke, still faced away from her. "My associates came in contact with him two weeks ago in Prague, but they were unable to fulfill my wishes. Mr. Trent _was _wounded however, so your hunt should prove a little easier." He paused, his hands wavering over the many candles that were placed before him. "Make sure it's done, and quickly, preferably before he can explain his situation to Miss Croft. Her helping him will complicate things."

The woman nodded, her hand gripping the hilt of the sword that wavered in the sheath at her waist, anxiousness creating the movement. "And what of Miss Croft? Do I kill her too?"

The Master paused with thought. "Only if it's necessary." he paused, a smile covering his shadowed face. "We wouldn't want to waste such a marvelous creature without a just cause."

The blonde nodded. "I'll get in touch with our associate at the Lancaster there. We put him in contact with Miss Croft several days ago to discuss the prior happenings with the failed attempts in Prague, just incase our assumptions were correct and Kurtis showed up at her door. She should be willing to see him, and our idiotic target will no doubt tag along."

"And you are sure that Mr. Trent has not acquired the Vial already?" the Master questioned.

"He hasn't had time, My Lord."

"I still want you to check it out. Have your contact inspect miss Croft for any _markings_ once she arrives."

The woman nodded. "It shall be done."

"Excellent." the hooded figure spoke. "Contact him immediately and set up a meeting. I want Mr. Trent disposed of as soon as possible, then we will be free to finish our work." He paused as he stared forward. "You're the best I have Mariana, I'd hate for you to disappoint me."

"Never, My Lord." The woman spoke as she quickly rose from her position upon her knees and honorably bowed her head, "I shall do as you wish." she spoke softly before turning away from the Master and quickly heading toward the cathedral's exit, a smile upon her face. She eagerly retrieved a cellphone from her pocket, quickly dialing a number and placing the phone to her ear. The call directed to the Lancaster Museum in Surrey.

**A/N: Another finished edit, and I introduced the baddies in the chapter to make things more interesting. I really try to keep them secretive throughout the story so their entire order and purpose is hidden until nearer the end. They all have shady pasts, as you can tell. One of them with Kurtis which I'm going to expand on in the edit. And I'll try to make that clearer with the editing. I know it's been a while since I've posted anything new, but I'm trying to work on the sequel so the edit will take longer that I thought.**


	3. The Mark of the Nephilim

Chapter 3

Lara woke as usual with the first light of dawn, the previous night running through her mind. Kurtis's explanation of his survival seemed primitive to her, but she trusted him. She _wanted_ to anyway.

She still needed to question him on some other matters however, like why he had come here and how he had survived for so long with a wound as bad as the one in his stomach. Her interrogation had been delayed however, as Kurtis never seemed to stay awake for more than twenty minutes at a time. Also, how yesterday he was basically out the entire morning, awakening for a short few seconds, and then passing out again for the rest of the evening and throughout the night. Lara now patiently waited in her assault coarse for any sudden news on his condition, the news hopefully being that he was awake.

Lara swiftly grabbed her pistol as a spiral shaped platform, painted with a bulls-eye, suddenly shot out from behind her. She quickly pivoted on her heels, spinning toward the object, rapidly firing three 9mm rounds into it's base, practically blowing the placement to pieces from her close range. A second target instantly appeared from behind a bush before her, thirty feet away. She smiled as she pulled once again on the trigger. The shot blew through the bulls-eye's center with almost perfect accuracy.

Lara's motion then stalled as she stared ahead, anxiously waiting for a movement of any kind to grace the space around her, waiting for another target to appear.

Her eyes became wide as a sudden noise sounded behind her. She dove to the ground, flipping herself over to face the opposite way, to face the newly present target. The barrel of her gun met its forehead.

"Nice shooting." the familiar voice sounded behind the pistol's frame. Kurtis had a look of sarcasm and surprise in his eyes as he slowly backed away from her gun.

Lara stared at him with unsureness as she quickly lowered the pistol. He seemed tired. Dark circles conformed around his eyes, but the bandage around his waist was holding up well. "You should be resting." she told him with a serious tone.

"Two weeks is long enough to rest." he argued as he curiously eyed her property with greed and admiration.

Lara shook her head. "Well technically you've only been resting for one day, since it took you two weeks to get here." She fired another shot at a nearby target before her mind suddenly caught on to something. "Wait." she spoke, confused. She turned back to him questioningly, her mind realizing what he had said. "There's no way you could've survived that long bleeding the way you were."

Kurtis stared at her silently, searching for a way to avoid her, searching for a way to end her assumptions and suspicions about his health. He stared at her gun, a way out. "Let me see that." he told her, holding out his hand, waiting for the 9mm to meet his palm.

Lara cautiously handed it to him, keeping her other hand firmly attached to the remaining pistol at her thighs. She watched as Kurtis quickly leveled the weapon she had given him, and fired a shot at a target over fifty feet away. The round entered directly through its spiral center and shot out of its back in one steady path.

He turned back to her with a smart-elect cock of his head. "I'm fine." he triumphantly spoke as he handed the gun back.

"Alright." she sarcastically started with a smile, though still unconvinced "I believe you. Just don't expect me to come to your rescue again after you pass out."

"I won't." he sternly returned as another shot fired from her 9mm and hit its target. Kurtis looked around him once again, eyeing his surroundings, forcing himself to ask its owner what he wanted to know, what he needed to know. He started."This is a mighty big estate for someone like you."

Lara lowered the gun once again as she heard the words. She looked to Kurtis with inset brows, annoyed.

Kurtis explained his comment. "I mean, being just you and the butler."

"This place isn't just for me," she corrected him, "it's for my toys. I've turned an oversized boring place into something useful. You won't find one room in that house that isn't being used to further my effectiveness."

Kurtis smiled at the words, finding a comment. He leaned his back against the enormous brick wall that lay behind him, a cocked grin upon his face. "The bedroom." He said with curiousness and sarcasm.

Lara raised an eyebrow. "The mattress is stocked with two Ruger shotguns, and an almost endless supply of 9mm ammo. The fireplace has an escape route to the roof, and," she paused as she smiled, delivering suspense, "I get a lot of rest there."

"Impressive." Kurtis returned with a nod of his head. The sarcastic expression changed to one of mischievous inquiries as a smirk covered his face. "You'll have to show it to me sometime."

Lara put on a fake smile before adding a grimace. She leveled her pistol once again with a target. "Then you'd better get your strength back up."

Kurtis smiled again at her comment and started toward her, his movement was interrupted however, as Winston anxiously appeared from the house and called to her.

Lara holstered her weapon as she spotted the elderly help, lungs working harshly as he gasped for breath. He had run from the house to tell her something, an act he shouldn't have done at his age; it must have been important. She quickly ran to him, Kurtis following behind.

"Mr. Lynch called from the museum." Winston quickly told her through his spastic breaths. "He wants to talk to you about that painting in Prague."

Lara let out a sigh of annoyance at the mention of the aggravating museum curator. "He's been bothering me about that damn thing ever since I got home." she informed Kurtis, then turned back to Winston. "Tell him I'll be inside in a moment."

"He's not on the line." the butler put in before Lara could leave. "He said he needs to meet with you in person, immediately. He said he needs to find out if you have been," the man paused with confusion as he swallowed, "infected by the Nephilim."

Lara felt her heart suddenly slow as she strangely stared at Winston.

"He sounded very nervous." the old man added, then slowly backed away.

Lara pondered Winston's words in her mind as she stared at the ground, unsure of Mr Lynch's meaning by them. _"Infected by the Nephilim?_" her mind questioned, _"What does that mean?"_ Lara wasn't sure about this. Something didn't seem right. How could the Nephilim have infected her with anything?

She sighed as she shook her head. She might as well check it out, not because she was afraid that the words may have been true, but more to end her curiosity of the statement. She would rather be safe than sorry. "Alright," she finally agreed with herself. "I'm going."

Lara reloaded her weapon as she quickly made her way toward the large garage beside her home. As she neared the door she heard Kurtis behind her.

"Can I come?" he asked, with anxiousness in his voice.

"What for?" Lara returned with confusion. She wondered why he would want to accompany her with something so boring, something that wasn't his business.

"Just to see the sights." He simply told her. "Besides, there's nothing else to do here."

After a short disagreement between the two of how Kurtis needed his rest, Lara finally gave in to his wishes and decided that his condition was completely his own responsibility. If he ended up unconscious or dead, it wouldn't be her fault.

Lara quickly helped Kurtis get settled within her BMW as she rushed to get to the museum. The ride was fast, taking only minutes with the use of side roads and back streets, until the stairs of the Lancaster Museum appeared in front of them.

Lara quickly parked her car and left it, starting toward the front door of the immense stone building before her, aiding Kurtis up the lengthy marble stairs. The two crossed through a towering hall of columns before finally entering into the museum through its large glass doors.

As soon as Lara stepped foot within the extravagant main hall of the Lancaster Museum, she spotted the man who had called her there. Mr. Lynch was waiting by the door to his office as if he had expected her to come as soon as he called. The short, balding man, seemed worried and his eyes were large with anxiousness, causing his features to appear even older than they were. He quickly approached Lara immediately as he saw her, but seemed hesitant at the sight of Kurtis. The man was oddly silent as he unapprovingly looked Mr. Trent over, shaking his head once he was through.

Kurtis noticed the man's arrogant action, and immediately stuck his hand out in greeting, making it known. The beady eyed man quickly jumped back as if afraid of Kurtis's gesture and again turned urgently to Lara as she started to question him.

"I'd like to know why our meeting was so urgent that I had to come today." she started with curiosity, and slight impatience.

As the small man began to explain, he again looked to Kurtis, stopping himself. There was something about the Lux Veritatis warrior that made him act extremely strange, like he wasn't himself. Lara had met with this man many times before, and he had always been cheerfully helpful, now he seemed paranoid and twitchy. He shook his head as he sighed, refusing to speak another word until Lara accompanied him into his office.

As Kurtis tried to follow them Mr. Lynch forced him back.

Kurtis became angry at the man's disliking of him and would have hit the small museum curator had Lara not stopped him. She instructed him to wait for her in the lobby, stating that she would only be gone a few moments.

She and the man then left him waiting outside. They entered Mr. Lynch's small private office, closing the door behind them, filling the space with silence as they were cut off from the rest of the world.

Before Lara could speak a word the aggravating man seemed to be yelling at her.

"Miss Croft," he urgently began. "I need to see your back."

Lara stared at the man with a confused grimace as she slightly smiled. "My back?" she returned, thinking that she had heard wrong. "What for?"

"It's a necessary precaution." he shortly stated with arrogance and urgency.

"Precaution for what!" Lara was losing patience with the man's secrecy. She stared at him for several seconds as he remained silent, an action proving that he had no idea what he was talking about. She rolled her eyes with anger as she began for the door.

Mr. Lynch suddenly gasped as he saw her trying to leave. He quickly forced his way in front of her, blocking her path out of the cubicle-like space. He stared at her, hesitant with his words as if trying to think of something to say. He found it.

"The Sleeper!" The man hurriedly called out. "You said you came in contact with it, correct?"

Lara exhaled with frustration. "Correct."

"I'm-just-looking," he began, taking pauses between each word as though he was making everything up off the top of his head. "To-see-if-it left the mark."

Lara clenched her fist together as she stared at the man. She demanded that he stop messing around, she demanded that he tell her what was going on.

"The mark of the Nephilim!" He quickly shouted, as to avoid whatever pain Lara might consider unleashing on him. "You may have been-um-contaminated by it."

"Contaminated?"

"Yes! It is said that those who-come in contact with these dark angels, must never have a child."

"A child!" she exclaimed. The man was beginning to frighten her. She had no idea what he was talking about. "Why?"

"If you were to conceive," he quickly cried out, "the child would be an evil work of god, an unholy relic that would desecrate the world."

"A Nephilim?"

"Yes!" he shouted, as if glad that Lara had finished his sentence.

"Mr Lynch," Lara angrily started, "I assure you that I-"

"Just let me see your back, girl!"

Lara finally gave up on her wits and furiously lifted the back of her shirt, revealing her spine. She could feel the man scanning her skin closely for several minutes, mumbling faint words under his breath as he thought. She finally heard him whisper "nothing." to himself. He seemed relieved and disappointed.

"Satisfied?" Lara asked triumphantly as she lowered her shirt, returning to face him.

"Don't be fooled, my child." he warned her, in an almost threatening tone. "These things can appear late. I want you to promise me that if a mark of any kind appears, that you'll contact me immediately."

Lara annoyingly grinned. "Well I don't think I'll be having a child any time soon, so..."

"Yes," he pretended to agree with her, then stated his own opinion, "but that man you came in with, there's always a chance tha-"

"No." Lara said so sternly that Mr. Lynch stopped his words. She shook her head, not even wanting to consider the images that his statement held. "Kurtis and I aren't like that. Our relationship-" she stopped herself "-that's just it, we don't even have a relationship. It's only been a few weeks since Mr. Trent-"

Lara was shocked as the man let out a near scream at the mention of Kurtis's last name. Perspiration quickly appeared upon his brow as his breathing became spastic.

Lara gritted her teeth, tired with his screwing around.

"What's wrong with you!" she demanded. "I've never seen you act like this before!"

"Just promise me," he began as he regained his breathe and wiped his forehead with a handkerchief "that you and this, _Mr. Trent_," he spoke the named with contempt, as if it were evil or satanic, "that the two of you will never-"

"Agreed." Lara quickly put in before the words could leave his mouth, and the thought of her and Kurtis together could enter her mind.

The man's emotions suddenly changed, and he now seemed anxious to be rid of her. "Now, if you'll excuse me," he impatiently stated "I have to make a phone call."

Lara had had enough of this twisted man. She angrily eyed his figure before quickly removing herself from his office.

-

Kurtis was happy to see Lara emerge from the small office at the end of the room. He had gotten bored of the museum in the fifteen minutes he had spent there. Throughout the time he had been alone, he had managed to get lost in an Egyptian temple exhibit, nearly knocked over a Persian vase, and attracted the attention of almost ever person in the vicinity; nothing Lara needed to know about.

She seemed confused as she came back to him, slightly muttering questioning words under her breath.

"What was the emergency?" Kurtis curiously asked, smiling.

"I don't know." she answered, staring at the floor as she shook her head with thought. "He was babbling about the Nephilim contaminating people and effecting their children."

Kurtis's smile disappeared. He too looked confused.

"He said that those who come in contact with one," she continued "would have a Nephilim instead of a child."

Kurtis shook his head with arched brows, "In all the ancient scrolls and history I've had to sit through," he told her, "I've never heard anything like that."

Lara didn't understand. Why would Mr. Lynch lie to her? He had always been a reliable colleague before- Lara then realized that Kurtis Trent was also a stranger. Was Mr. Lynch lying to her, or was someone else? She tucked her thoughts away and turned back to Kurtis.

"Better get back." She quickly told him. "You need your rest."

Lara began for the museum's main door, and Kurtis, without complaining, quickly followed. As they neared the exit, Kurtis felt his body suddenly jerk to the side, his balance knocked away by a stranger's passing shoulder. Pain seared though his body and he quickly turned around, searching for the clumsy asshole who was responsible.

Kurtis stopped dead still as he saw the man, his jaw slightly falling out of fear. The figure looked like a normal person to the people surrounding him, but Kurtis knew better, he could sense something different, a shout of warning screaming through his mind.

His assumption was proven correct as the _normal_ man's eyes suddenly flashed red, his teeth shown evilly through a growling expression.

**A/N: This Chapter actually had the feeling of friendship between LC and KT, but I wasn't sure if it was too much too soon. I edited the grammar, but does the actually plot need revising? It's also an interesting cliffie which leads to a big twist, even though it's only the 3rd chapter. :P**


	4. A New Enemy

Chapter 4

Kurtis felt his heart suddenly stall as he stared at the figure before him. The man's vocals instantly released a muffled growl in response, and Kurtis quickly backed away from the strange figure. He breathed spastically with fear as he hurriedly made his way back to Lara, gathering his calmness as he pummeled through the crowd. He grabbed her shoulder, gaining her attention as he neared her, but stalled as she turned to face him. He suddenly felt even more uneasy. He timidly scanned the room, something else was there, something familiar, _someone_ familiar. He felt the suspense in his chest rise as he spotted four more of the dark figured humans, each dressed in black clothing, coats adorning their figures. Two were slowly closing in behind them, the remaining three ahead, waiting for him at the museum's entrance.

His breathing stopped as his eyes focused on one of them, a familiar face with short blonde hair, her chin defined, giving an elvish tint to her features. Her dark eyes were set on his, filling him with memories, with fear. He watched her suddenly lift her arm and direct it forward; she was signaling to the rest.

He exhaled loudly as he closed his eyes, gripping the churigai now at his waist. He couldn't let these creatures see him with Lara, especially the one before him, the one who was known to him. He couldn't allow Lara to get involved with this.

Lara sensed an uneasiness within Kurtis. His eyes scanned timidly throughout the museum lobby as if he was scared. She gently placed her hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?" she asked. He was sweating, nervous.

Kurtis didn't answer, but quickly glanced at her eyes and then focused his attention back to the room. He jerked away from her as he realized the crazed humans were still watching him.

"I think," he began his excuse, staring at the floor, barely moving his lips, "I'm gonna go check my bandages right quick."

"Why?"Lara worriedly asked "Are you in pain?" She didn't understand his sudden change of attitude.

"No," he answered, never looking at her, "I just-uh-don't want to get blood in your car."

Kurtis had gone before she could ask further questions. She shrugged her shoulders as he entered the bathroom. Maybe his mind was still tired and confused.

Kurtis could sense a presence trailing him as he entered the small lounge behind the bathroom door. He could feel the moisture on his hands building as the thought of battle neared his mind. He hated leaving Lara unknowing outside, but he had to get out of public or he would've risked bringing her into it. He hurriedly searched the small area around him for the men's room, and quickly forced open its door.

He scanned the small restroom before him, planning his defense. He saw several stalls lining the opposite side of the room, and a double sink and mirror lay around a small corner, nothing of interest. He was running out of time. He then stared to the ceiling, hollow and decorated with wooden supports. Kurtis smiled as a thought emerged. He breathed deeply as he heard the first door to the lobby open. They were coming.

Kurtis quickly jumped up and grabbed one of the many beams that held the ceiling. He forced his legs onto the structure and pulled himself upward, supporting himself upon it.

There he crouched, waiting quietly for the enemy to emerge. He faced the door and tightly gripped the support at his feet. He steadied his breathe, readying himself for what was to come.

The door slowly began to open, and Kurtis could feel his senses change. His heart pounded loudly with fear and anticipation as the gap to the outer room widened.

He carefully watched as the man who had shouldered him in the lobby silently entered. His demonic form searched the room with timid eyes, hunting for his target. He was followed by an arabic man and a woman with red hair. That was three. He waited for the fourth. He saw a skinny brunette woman enter and knew that she was the last; being that the leader, the blonde, would still be outside, waiting to finish him off.

Kurtis fixed his eyes upon the final attacker and watched as she cautiously began to enter. Her eyes glowed brightly in the dimmed light and her pale skin created an essence that screamed of evil.

Before she could leave the doorway, he quickly gripped the support beam and swung himself down, holding on with his arms. He powerfully brought both his feet forward and connected them with the woman's chest.

He watched as the force lifted her from the ground and sent her body back into the bath lounge.

Kurtis dropped himself to the floor and prepared himself for the other three. The human's eyes glowed red as they angrily flashed crimson-stained teeth through peeled and parched lips. Kurtis clutched the ancient weapon at his waist and slid his fingers through its iron grips. He lifted the churigai, ready to kill, and tried his best to smile.

Kurtis held his ground as the foreign man rushed toward him. He watched the creature's movements with steady eyes, ready for anything. Kurtis was slightly surprised however, as the man stopped his motions and quickly reached inside the inner pocket of his straight jacket. Kurtis felt a cringe up his spine at what he saw, a metal frame and silenced barrel.

The strange man began forward once again, and raised the gun. Kurtis acted fast. He hurriedly charged forward and grabbed the man's forearm. He forced the creatures limb upward, and quickly spun himself around. He could see the gun before him as he rested the mans arm upon his shoulder. Kurtis lifted it again and stopped. He let out a brutal noise as he jerked his hands down, forcefully bringing the creatures elbow down upon his shoulder.

Kurtis could hear the cracking of bone as the man's arm bent unnaturally upward. He was surprised when his attacker let out no scream, but continued forward as if to strangle him.

He quickly turned back toward the creature and forced its arms away. He lowered himself toward the floor and flexed his muscles upward. He thrust his arm at the monsters face and ended its liveliness with an upward palm to the nose. He watched coldly as the creature fell to the dark concrete floor, dead.

As he raised his head he saw the red hair coming rapidly toward him.

Before Kurtis could recover his stance, the next _thing_ attacked. He rushed himself backward as she rapidly struck her hands at his face. Long finger-nails stabbed at him, greedily waiting to taste his blood. Kurtis watched her arms with precise vision, and deflected them away. He saw her thrust her foot back and hurriedly lowered his churigai. He watched intently as the woman's knee was met by his blade. He ripped the weapon away, taking half of her thigh with it. He was stunned as the creature continued to rush itself forward, un-delayed by the wound in her leg. Before he could prepare to meet her, he felt pain in his shoulder where the freaks teeth sunk into his flesh.

He felt the light touch of blood running down his back as he forced his arm forward and thrust his blade into the creature's waist. His hands turned deep red as the weapon sliced open her stomach. Kurtis gritted his teeth as he forced the blade deeper, tearing the creature's insides and meeting its spinal cord.

He smiled as the woman's form slumped downward. Its body went limp and its features became pale. Kurtis quickly dislodged his weapon, ready to bury it inside of the final demon, now standing before him.

Kurtis felt his breath dim with slight fatigue as the remaining form approached him. He gathered his strength and kicked his foot forward. He helplessly watched as the man grabbed his limb and pushed. Kurtis felt his feet collapse from under him and pain sear through his back as it connected with the floor.

He looked up at the demon as it stared down at him with rage. The monster picked up the now vacant churigai and threw it across the room. Kurtis tried to break free as the creature grabbed his shirt and lifted him upward, but his motions were slowed as the pain overtook his body. The demon looked deep at Kurtis with its satanic eyes. It reared back it's arm, ready to strike.

Kurtis watched, defenseless, and the creature thrust its palm forward.

He felt the air leave his lungs as the creature's fist met his ribcage. His body was then powerfully thrown through the air, and halted by the mirror on the far wall. Kurtis gritted his teeth as the glass shattered around him. His body hit the floor as the shards tore into his skin.

He fell forward as the exhaustion took him. He felt his face against the cold surface of the floor and heard the feet of the final creature slowly coming toward him..

A thousands needles seemed to purge within his skull as the satanic form gripped his hair and viciously jerked him upward. It stared at him with cold features, pale and lined with rage. Kurtis was forced to remain still as the creature's arm lunged forward once again.

The pain caused by the creatures fist in the wound at his waist, put Kurtis on the verge of vomiting.

The demon seemed to smile at his discomfort and pushed harder against the wound. Kurtis could sense his mind leaving him as the pain pulsated deeper into his body. His vision grew blurry and the creature before him disappeared into a black canvas.

His senses returned however, as he felt his body being launched across the room once again, the bone in his back bruising as it met the side-walls of the stalls behind him. The walls crashed down as Kurtis's body forced them to the floor. He felt water spray upon him from broken pipes and dismantled plumbing. The liquid burned at his wounds as though fire scorched his skin. He tried to force himself to move, but his efforts were hopeless as the paralyzing pain continued.

He stared with fading hope as the monster again approached him.

The man assisted Kurtis to a stand by wrapping its hands around his throat. It held him at the position and forced his back against the remaining wall. The creature stared deeply into its victim's eyes as it tightened the grip around his neck

Kurtis felt his throat purge for air as his windpipe bent to the back of his throat. He instinctively grabbed his attackers arms in an attempt to pull free. His efforts failed.

He quickly searched the room for a defense, desperately looking for a way to escape the creature's deadly hold. The pressure in his lungs increased, and Kurtis could sense his heart slow with the loss of oxygen.

His eyes moved rapidly across the room. There was nothing there. He searched again in desperation as he took his final breaths. He quickly tried to kick his feet forward, but his weakened body wouldn't allow it. He felt his mind dying and his vision fading. He looked past the demon at his throat, and saw his previous destruction, the two bodies that lay lifelessly on the floor. He stared at the wound upon the dead woman's torso, and remembered his blade. He forced himself to stay awake and quickly looked for the weapon. It wasn't there. He searched again with desperation and his eyes neared the far wall.

There he saw it, pinned to the floor by the demon's legs. Kurtis raised his hand with his last bit of strength, and focused his remaining powers onto the blade, mere feet away. He felt the man before him's thumbs dig deeper into his throat, and Kurtis held his breath with fear and desperation. He looked back to the demon and saw his world go black as the iron grips of the weapon met his fingers.

The final creature slightly released the grip upon Kurtis's neck as the sharp metal teeth of his blade met the flesh of its waist. Kurtis felt his senses return to his mind as the lost air was restored to his lungs. He saw the monster before him, and quickly dropped out of it's loosened hold around his neck. He felt his body hit the floor and acted quickly before the creature would have time to respond. Kurtis hurriedly retracted the muscles of his legs, and tightly tucked them to his chest.

He angrily shouted as he powerfully shoved his feet forward, directing them toward the creature's legs.

The monster growled as the caps of its knees popped out of place. It suddenly fell to the floor as its legs were rendered useless.

Kurtis pushed his weight against the wall behind him, and forced himself to a stand. He tightened his grip upon the churigai and cautiously walked toward his disabled attacker. The creature growled with rage as its prey neared it.

Kurtis steadied his mind from going unconscious, and stared at the creature for several seconds. He then looked to the churigai in his palm. He brought his eyes back to the beast and coldly lifted the blade. He thrust his fist forward and intently watched as the weapon around his hand drove deep into the creature's skull. He stared into the man's eyes as their red glow faded, and quickly ripped the weapon from its head. The creature's body fell stiffly to the floor as death finally took it.

Kurtis slowly walked forward with an unsteady mind. He quickly caught himself on the wall beside him as his body gave way. He needed to get to the lobby; he needed to get to Lara. "Lara!" he said faintly to himself. He had just remembered that the leader of his demonic attackers remained outside, the worst of them all. He restructured his knees and forced himself to stand on his own. He slowly staggered to the bathroom door and forced it open.

Kurtis stared with unbelieving eyes as he was greeted by the woman he had kicked out of the restroom at the start of this painful nightmare. The beast growled loudly and quickly rushed at him. Kurtis angrily threw his churigai toward her and raised his hand. He used his mind to guide the blade forward and directed it at the beast.

Kurtis watched as the demon fell to the floor. He slowly walked to her body and retrieved the blade from her throat. Kurtis stared at the door to the lobby and tiredly started toward it. He gradually opened the door, and walked through. He wasn't surprised as everyone stared. He searched the room for Lara, terrified that the remaining beast had taken her. He was relieved as he saw her blurry form running toward him.

Lara couldn't believe her eyes. Kurtis looked like he had been murdered. Blood ran from his forehead, arms, legs, and heavily from his waist. His face and throat were bruised, and the parts of his clothes that hadn't been ripped or torn, were drenched in water. She hurriedly approached him.

"What happened!" she demanded. "Your soaking wet, and bleeding like crazy!"

Kurtis glanced behind her, searching for the leader of his attackers, of the familiar subject from his past. He instead saw three security guards heading rapidly toward the bathrooms.

"We have to go." he urgently commanded and grabbed her arm.

Lara jerked away. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what happened. Now what's going on!"

"Listen to me." he desperately pleaded, knowing that the remaining enemy would emerge at any moment. "We have to get out of here. I'll explain everything later, but we're in danger here."

Lara stared longingly at him. She wanted to trust him, but couldn't.

"Please!" he begged one last time. He swallowed hard, and Lara knew he was in extreme pain.

Lara blew at her decision, and nodded her head in agreement. She quickly drew him outside and to her car, helped him in, and then entered herself.

As soon as Kurtis felt the car jutting forward, he felt a gun barrel at his temple.

"What the hell is going on!" Lara asked forcefully. She demanded to know what had happened in the museum.

"Listen," Kurtis desperately explained. "I haven't been completely honest with you."

"What a surprise." Lara replied with sarcasm and mockery.

"I didn't come back because I was hurt, I could have handled that on my own." he paused "I came back because I need your help."

"My help?" Lara asked, surprised. "With what?"

The car suddenly swerved out of the road as a sudden noise and weight erupted on the metal above them.

"What the fuck is that!" Lara exclaimed as the roof above her slightly bent in. She was startled as she saw the blade of a sword suddenly slash through the top of the car and barely miss her head. She quickly grabbed her pistol and aimed upward. She pulled the trigger, firing several heated rounds through the car's roof.

A silence fell despite the extreme noise surrounding them. Whatever it was, had apparently gone.

Lara looked to Kurtis in confusion of what had happened. She felt her heart beating with suspense and anger. She didn't know wh-

Lara turned the wheel violently in surprise as she saw a figure land heavily on the hood of her vehicle. The shape's form made Lara instantly realize that it was a woman. The attacker then spun with perfect balance, despite the vehicle's speed, and stared through the window at Lara Her hair shined golden in the sun, and her eyes glowed red as she evilly grinned, showing demonic teeth that seemed pointed and blood drenched.

The satanic woman than lifted her arm and lunged it forward, shattering the windshield, and raining glass upon Lara and Kurtis.

Lara gritted her teeth as the shards stung at her exposed skin, and in an instant of hate, quickly leveled her pistol and fired.

She watched as the woman's face suddenly left it's base, and pieces of flesh flew through the air.

She was relieved and surprised when the thing let out a shrilling scream, then fell from the car.

Lara's breathing became heavy as her mind comprehended the events that had just occurred. She shook her head, gathering her thoughts, then shouted to Kurtis, demanding to know what had happened. She received no answer.

Lara quickly looked toward him only to see him slouched and unconscious in his seat. "Shit!" she exclaimed, as she stomped the gas and quickly headed for Croft Manor.

(-)

Kurtis slowly felt the world appear around him once again; he was tired of that feeling. Along with the walls of Croft Manor, he saw something else that, after his vision returned to normal, he discovered was a gun barrel. "Not again." He muttered, and rolled his eyes in aggravation of not being trusted.

"Shutup." Lara quickly put in. "I want to know who you are, and why you came here."

Kurtis looked at her with disbelief, and sarcastically began. "Fine! My name is Kurtis Trent. I'm part of an ancient occult of knights known as the Lux Veritatis.-"

Lara rolled her eyes and blew at his ignorance. She lowered her gun as he continued.

"-A man named Eckhardt has succeeded in destroying everyone in this occult, except for me." He paused and sincerely looked at her. "That's why I'm here, I need your help."

"Go on." Lara simply answered, still unconvinced, and though she wouldn't admit it, confused.

"What do you know about the Lux Veritatis?" He questioned.

"Not enough." she angrily spoke.

"This fellowship," he explained, "was started centuries ago, dating back to the knights of the round table. Ever since I was a child I've been taught about the order, their history, their beliefs, their rituals." he stopped as if angry "It's all bullshit. Every one of us was born with a burden on our head."

"Burden?"

"That we would be the last."

"And what's wrong with that?" Lara asked. He wasn't making sense.

"The Lux Veritatis' strength is within it's numbers." he quickly explained. "All together the Lux Veritatis had an abundance of power. Thousands of dark and foreboding alliances where captured and stopped during the middle ages, because together we were strong. That's one of the reasons Eckhardt escaped."

"Loss of power?" she impatiently asked.

"Because there were so few of us left." he answered.

"And?" Lara tried to hurry him along.

"And now there's only one. One man is keeping thousands of instruments of evil from being unleashed into the world. Once_ I_ die the Lux Veritatis chain will be completely broken, and everything we fought to destroy over the years will be freed."

Lara, realizing what Kurtis had just said, opened her mouth with fear and awe, then lowered her head, thinking, comprehending it all.

"I got attacked four days ago, and just now at the museum," Kurtis explained, "so they know who I am."

"Who are _they_?" Lara asked, confused.

"Some of the old organization, like the cabal," he answered, "created assassins, wraiths, to kill us if they ever got captured. The creature's purpose is to awaken when the last Lux Veritatis arises, and hunt them down. There's no telling who they're working for, who their calling _Master_ now."

"So is that what the blonde bitch that totaled my car was?" Lara asked.

Kurtis simply nodded his head, and looked at the floor as though not telling her everything, trying to avoid any talk of the woman in which she spoke.

"So humanity's doomed." Lara stated with almost a sense of humor. "What am I supposed to do about it?"

"I said there was a burden on _my_ head. _I_ have to stop this from happening."

"Then why did you come here?" Lara questioned. "You said it yourself, _you_ have to stop this, not me."

Kurtis continued without hesitation, ignoring her question. "It's rumored, that long ago, the original order created something called the Vial of Kindred Shadows-"

"Which is?" Lara surgingly cut him off.

Kurtis looked at her with anger, and she simply looked away. "Think about it." he continued. "What has to happen in order to keep the world safe?"

Lara, aggravated, didn't answer, but sarcastically shrugged her shoulders.

"I have to pass the Lux Veritatis gene on to more people." He answered his own question.

"That's impossible." Lara protested. "There's only one of you."

"That's why I need the Vial." he explained. "There's a place called the Realm of Valor. It's the oldest known Lux Veritatis stronghold, where the earliest of us kept shop. There should be a map there that can lead me to what I need."

"And this vial artifact can help you how?"

"This _artifact_ can give me the power to create an elder."

"An elder?"

"That's what the first of us were referred to as." He explained. "An elder could pass their mentality on to anyone they wanted to, making that person one of us."

"So in other words," Lara stated with a grin, "this thing can save everyone and return all these evil _entities_ back to wherever the hell they came from."

Kurtis nodded, returning her smile.

"So where is this stronghold?" she asked, needing to know more, actually wanting to.

"Hippo, North Africa." he answered. "Or in more modern terms, Annaba, Algeria."

Lara was confused by his statement. A history lesson would prove it wrong. "But I thought the Lux Veritatis and the Nephilim were centered around the ancient Byzantine Empire in Turkey."

"They were." he agreed, "But the first of us lived and taught the holy word in Hippo, so it should be there."

"Should?" Lara said with worry.

"Well you like finding things." He said with slight grin. "So it sounds like a good time."

"And why should I help you?" Lara asked, for the mere satisfaction of hearing his answer.

"You shouldn't." Kurtis stated to Lara's surprise. "I'm not asking you to come along as a bodyguard, but I'll admit that you're a lot smarter and a lot better looking than me," he held a serious expression, "and I thought you might come in handy."

"For what I wonder?" Lara shot back without a smile.

"Not that." Kurtis said, returning her stubborn face. "There's gonna be dangers, traps, puzzles, everything a Tomb Raider dreams of." A grin appeared across Lara's face, and Kurtis could tell she thrived for such things. "Interested?"

"Maybe." She answered. "But I don't trust you."

"Then kill me and see what happens." Kurtis impatiently stated.

"Maybe I will." Lara spoke with a irritated tone, her grip on the pistol tightening.

They starred at one another, Lara wondering if she could trust him, and Kurtis wondering if Lara would actually shoot him.

Lara suddenly broke away, and walked to a closet at the opposite wall. She pulled out a medium sized bag, and brought it to him, then disappeared for several seconds before returning with familiar items, his shoulder-strap and Boran X, the prototype pistol created specially for people in his field of expertise, demons. She tossed it at him before instructing Winston to cut him free of the ropes.

Kurtis sighed with delight as his grip was reunited with the weapon's frame, more than happy to see the gun again.

"We leave in two hours." Lara spoke. "There are some clothes that should fit you downstairs." she instructed. "Winston will show you." Lara started to leave the room.

"We need to go to Guildford Station." Kurtis shouted to her, surprised that she had agreed so quickly.

Lara reentered the room. "You want to take a train?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah" he replied. "It's a lot more discrete, and I have some business to take care of."

"I'm not doing any side missions for you." Lara sternly stated.

"I'm not asking you to." he returned, annoyed. "After that, we can go strait to the airport in Villeurbanne. No more stops."

"Fine." Lara answered. "But if I even suspect that you are plotting against me." she paused and slightly smiled. "I _will_ kill you, Veritatis savior or no."

Kurtis starred at her as she left the room with an emotionless face.

"Two hours." Lara shouted back at Kurtis, as she went to her room to prepare for what would soon change her life.

**A/N: The story's plot becomes more involved now, and hopefully the finally edit is up. I added a little dialogue to the end**, **and let me know if anything is unclear. I'll try to explain things better in another edit if need be. :)**


	5. Getting Started

Chapter 5

Lara had a strange feeling inside, something that told her Kurtis wasn't to be trusted. She had only known the man for a few short weeks, but he seemed different than before. He was more sincere and less of an asshole.

Lara then thought of the strange tattoo on his chest, and of how Mr. Lynch had warned her about the _mark of the Nephilim_. Lots of people had tattoos however, and it wasn't really shocking to see one on a man like Kurtis. Lara forced her thoughts aside as she saw the object of them slowly hobbling down the large staircase in front of her.

Lara impatiently watched him. "How do you expect to do _anything_, much less find some ancient artifact when you can barely move?"

"Let _me_ worry about my health." Kurtis returned with a pained face. "_You_ worry about your job."

"My job?" Lara asked, irritated and slightly surprised. "You think I'm just some bitch you can hire for whatever, whenever you wan-"

"I didn't mean anything by it." Kurtis cut her off. "You're so hostile." he muttered as he walked by her, and out of the home's main door.

Lara felt embarrassed by her extravagant remark, and by his shallow remark about _her_. She felt slightly ashamed at making such an outburst, but rolled her eyes and quickly followed him outside. Lara helped Kurtis into the small sports car she had parked by the door, and put both their bags in the trunk.

As they started to leave, she was graced again by one of Kurtis's annoying remarks.

"I thought tomb raider's drove more rugged vehicles." he stated, as he eyed the inside of the Jaguar.

"I would be." Lara harshly stated. "But we're only going to the train station, now aren't we?"

The remainder of the drive was spent silently, but both Lara and Kurtis's thoughts were on the upcoming mission, and occasionally on one another. Lara still felt timid around him, unsure of his true purpose in coming back to her, but if what he said was true, her life was still going to be pretty dysfunctional over the next few days.

They reached the Guildford Train Station shortly after leaving Croft Manor. Lara hurriedly purchased the tickets they needed for their route to Villeurbane. She was surprised to find that Kurtis had gone missing, but her eyes soon caught him on the far side of the station, walking toward her.

"What are you doing!" she asked with hidden concern. "You're worried about being killed, and you just go off by yourself?"

"I don't need you to hold my hand and save me from the _mean _people." Kurtis sarcastically replied. "You're here to help me in Annaba, and that's it. Besides, I had to take care of something."

Lara blew with irritation and quickly pocketed the purchased tickets to Lyon. She didn't know why she was helping this arrogant man.

Once on the train, Lara put their bags in a storage compartment and the two sat alone in a small train car, occasionally chatting about the other's intentions for the journey.

Lara eventually went to the food car and ate a small meal, but Kurtis declined her invitation to come with. She shortly returned, and retook her seat across from him. She tried not to look at him, but found the task difficult.

She felt herself yawn, but she had no intention on falling asleep, especially with the stranger around.

Kurtis could tell that Lara was tired, and wasn't surprised when she quickly fell asleep on a small couch that sat adjacent to him. He smiled to himself, and silently stared out of the window as the remaining daylight faded.

(-)

Kurtis watched her with strange thoughts as he sat in the empty train car. He wondered how and why she had ended up where she was. She didn't seem to come from a background of adventurous people, but he respected her for being different. He stared at the 9mm at her hip, but his eyes quickly waned to other places as he studied the angelic, yet athletic form of her body. He was impressed with the muscle tone of her arms and thighs, and knew that she was the perfect one to help him.

He watched as her mouth slowly opened, rasping in air and ready to awaken. She stretched her arms out above her head, then fluttered her eyes until they lye open.

She stared at the ceiling with a cautious and detested ora, as though fixated in some deep thought or dream.

He had never seen someone wake up with such an angered face. Though cruel, he still admired its beauty, until he realized that the reason her face was lined with anger, was that she knew he was watching her.

"Can I help you Mr. Trent?" Lara spoke in a slightly aggravated voice, wondering why he had been around her while she slept. "I don't take kindly to people watching me when I don't know it."

"Really?" Kurtis returned with a hint of sarcasm. "I was sure that the _amazing_ Lara Croft would be able to see everything, even in her sleep."

Lara stared at him, and returned his unhumored smile. She grabbed her knuckles and pushed until a loud popping noise erupted. She was angry at herself for falling asleep, but she decided not to worry with such things that had already been done.

She slowly went to the window and stood, watching the darkened wilderness, wondering how long she had slept and how much longer their trip would be.

"So," she began, turning back to Kurtis, "are you planning on catching the plane immediately and riding to Annaba the entire night, or did you have a stop in mind?" She sat on the seat adjacent to him.

"There's a little place in Rhone, about an hour away from Lyon." He stated. "It's a Lux Veritatis safehouse so we should be ok to get some rest there." He paused and took the ancient churigai from his belt, spinning it between his fingers. "Then tomorrow we can take one of my bikes to the Villeurbanne Airport."

Lara looked at him, slightly confused at their future transportation. "One of them?"

Kurtis looked at her, surprise filling him at her hate driven words. "Miss Croft," Deep aggravation filled his eyes and anger took his lips, "when I said bikes, I meant two, and one of them is still in a ditch at Croft Manor." He starred at her with inset eyes. "If you find the need, you could just as easily walk to Villeurbanne if it would suit you better." He said the words with a detested fashion, insulted at the way she had reacted when the simple thought of riding a motorcycle with him had occurred.

Lara was slightly taken aback by his words, and was silent for a time, pacing across the car with aggravation until she looked back to him with thought. She smiled. This had to be some set up. She didn't see how he could have everything planned out on what seemed to be a spur of the moment expedition. She looked at his deep, untrustworthy eyes. "You planned this ahead didn't you?"

Kurtis, surprised at her statement, looked up with curiosity and disbelief.

"How else would you have your vehicles in the right place at the right time?" Lara asked harshly.

Kurtis shot up and slung the churigai back onto his belt. He couldn't understand how this woman constantly pushed him away and rejected his trust, especially after he had saved her life on more than one occasion. He was starting to get impatient with her attitude.

He rushed to Lara and instantly grabbed her arms. He shoved her into the wall and stared with anger in his eyes.

Lara was shocked by Kurtis's sudden action. She quickly knocked his hands away and unholstered her pistol. She aimed at his head and watched as he slowly backed away.

Kurtis grinned with sarcasm, which turned to hate. "If you don't want to help me," he stated coldly, "don't."

Lara, still holding the weapon high, watched as he quickly opened the door to the train car and left, slamming it behind him.

Lara lowered her pistol and forcefully kicked the sofa beside her. She stood for several minutes contemplating the man. She didn't trust him. And for some reason he seemed to be acting differently, more quiet and sensitive to her words, as though he were hiding something. She sat and put her head in her hands, slightly regretting what she had said to him

"Stop it." she told herself. There was no reason she should feel bad about what she had stated.

She was confident in her decision, until she realized what she had been so angered at: simply riding with a man on a motorcycle. She had done that many times before, but this time it seemed different, a more difficult task mentally.

Lara suddenly felt strange. There was something about Kurtis that made her stay defensive toward him, like she was afraid to get too close. Lara smiled and shook her head, wiping the sudden thoughts from her mind.

She quickly stood, deciding to explore the train for the next hour, simply to pass the time.

Kurtis entered the bathroom and splashed his face with water. He wanted to scream from the aggravation that the _woman_ had caused. He stopped as a thought suddenly occurred in his mind. He smiled. Maybe the reason Lara Croft was so offended at the thought of being near him, was the fear that she would like him. Kurtis grabbed his shoulders and leaned against the wall behind him. He slightly let out a jubilant laugh and decided to go and annoy the girl some more, just to see her reaction. He quickly left the room with a new confidence, and returned to the car that he had previously occupied.

He was disappointed to see that she wasn't there. He needed to find her, not only to talk to her, but to make sure she didn't run into any unexpected dangers, present on his behalf. He once again left the cabin, worried that she had really decided not to help him.

Lara was bored. She slowly walked through an empty storage car, now shadowed by the night. Her fingers casually slid across the tops of dusted crates as she passed beside them, her mind constantly churning with thoughts and worries of her upcoming venture. She wanted to get off this train and be rid of Kurtis Trent for good. His company was starting to sicken her, and the sooner she got away from him the better.

Lara's thoughts suddenly changed. Although he was aggravating, she admitted that she liked having him around to look at. Even though his mind was unpleasant, his body was more than pleasing.

Lara bit her lower lip at the thought of his masculine form and deep blue eyes. She then realized what she was doing and quickly removed the visions from her mind. She was angry at herself for thinking such things but her distress was quickly stopped as she heard a sudden noise in front of her.

Lara felt the presence of someone watching her and hurriedly grabbed her pistol. She cautiously continued forward and leveled her gun as she saw a figure jump out in front of her.

"You're going to accidently shoot me with that one day." She heard the voice of the man from her previous thoughts speak.

"Good." she told him. "Then I won't have to worry with you anymore." She put her pistol back in its holster and quickly walked past his form, trying to ignore Kurtis before more thoughts of him occurred. She opened the door to the next car and walked in.

Kurtis followed her into another empty storage car. He tried to speak, but she continued forward.

Kurtis was sick of her attitude. "Why are you so defensive toward me?" he asked.

Lara wanted to be nice, but her remembrance of the way she had thought of him made it impossible. "Just Shutup." She hatefully stated, continuing forward. "I don't feel like listening to your shi-"

Lara was cut off as a rogue fist connected with the side of her face. She fell unconsciously to the floor.

**A/N: Hehe, I even love how this one is cut off. Just when you think something might spark between them, and LC pulls away, then she gets knocked out. The edit is done, and hopefully you all enjoyed it better. I cleared some plot mistakes aswell.**


	6. Past Demons

Chapter 6

Kurtis jumped back in surprise as he watched Lara's body fall limply to the floor. He quickly grabbed his churigai and stood still, waiting for the attacker to make himself present.

His stance became more agile as the figure stepped from behind a niche in front of Lara's limp form, its slender figure and features hidden in the shadows as the moonlight shone behind it.

The enemy slowly walked forward through the dark chamber, coming closer to Kurtis, walking casually as it neared him.

Kurtis was calmed as his eyes followed the enemy's movements. It's body slowly began to angle itself, circling around its target. He cautiously stared while the figure continued around, as if taunting him. He stood still, ready for its attack.

The figure finally came to a halt directly in front of his stance. It stared at him, completely still, teasing his mind, making him loose interest before it suddenly lunged forward.

Kurtis quickly lifted his arm as the attacker kicked toward him. He felt his churigai dig into flesh, but heard no scream from the dark figure before him.

The form instantly backed away as its wound was set. It didn't delay however, as it simply restarted its previous movements, circling him once again. It was utterly silent in its advance, but stepped with the grace of an inhuman creature.

It closely studied the form of its target, its movements becoming still once again, completing the same act of trickery, then lunging forward with another attack.

Kurtis blocked his attacker's oncoming arms, and was surprised as he felt himself being pushed backward. He felt his feet suddenly falling from under him, and then his spine against the back wall. He slung the churigai forward, again feeling blood at it's tips, but the attacker remained in silence. The quietness confirmed Kurtis's assumptions, and he knew that his attacker was of the same demon forms that he had encountered at the museum earlier.

He grimaced as he received a fist across his face, but instantly retaliated by forcing his own forward. The enemy halted back, and Kurtis rushed toward it, grabbing the figure's throat, and lifting it against the car's side wall.

A light from the passing town, suddenly entered the train, and Kurtis gasped with surprise as the attacker was revealed to him. Kurtis starred in disbelief at the familiar female face, the short blonde hair that ran to her chin, and the pale glow that this woman gave off. He looked at her with cruelty and astonishment. "Mariana?"

"Did you miss me?" the figure sarcastically began, before connecting her knee with his torso.

Kurtis was forced back and grabbed the wound at his stomach, now searing with pain. As he fell forward, a sharp kick bruised his face. He hit the floor, and was forced to remain still as the pain increased and the attacker's foot pressed forcefully against his back, holding him down.

He felt the woman reach down and take the Boran X from his side. She tossed it to the floor then kicked it across the car.

She lifted her arm, and with ancient sorcery, forced him from the floor and pressed his body against the nearby wall.

Kurtis felt stiff, and realized that he couldn't move. He helplessly watched as the creature walked toward him and smiled. The black cat-suit that covered her body let off an eerie glow that haunted his mind.

"Hello Kurtis." she playfully stated as her fingertips caressed his chin and her teeth bit down upon her lower lip. "If I'd known you would be the last, this could have been over long ago."

Kurtis watched as the woman quickly retrieved a sword from the belt at her waist. She lifted the ancient weapon, crafted of black metal, and held it in the air, ready to thrust it forward.

"I'm going to miss you Kurtis Trent." She spoke with an evil grin. "It's time to end this."

Kurtis shut his eyes with fear as the blade began its descent toward him.

A sudden noise rang out, and he reopened the lids, forcing himself to look. He saw the satanic woman lower the blade as her eyes wavered down, staring at her chest with a sense of surprise. Silence prevailed.

The noise then sounded again and Mariana's body violently lunged back.

Kurtis turned to see Lara standing beside him, the smoking Boran X pistol in her hand. She pulled the trigger again, and the demon bitch was forced to the wall.

Lara stared at the woman, holding an expression of disbelief as she realized that this was the same person she had killed at the Lancaster Museum that very morning, the evil entity that Kurtis had referred to as a _wraith_.

The woman's eyes glowed red as she started toward her attacker, the growling noise erupting once again within her throat.

Lara smiled at the beast before lifting her foot, and thrusting it forward, sending the woman's form backward and out of a nearby window.

Stillness entered the car as the smile remained, and Lara carefully looked out of the now broken window pane.

She turned to Kurtis, who now lay flat against the floor, gripping his waist.

"Once again I find myself saving your ass." she said in a playful yet fretted tone.

"Catching the enemy off guard?" Kurtis returned, just searching for an excuse to Lara's words. "I wouldn't call that saving my ass."

Lara rolled her eyes. "Well next time I'll let you die." she stated. "Get up." she helped him off the floor, and pressed her hands against his wound. "Who was that?" She asked with slight urgency. "I shot her at the museum. Why isn't she dead?"

"It's a long story." Kurtis simply answered.

Lara looked at his wound, its bandage slightly turning color with the presence of blood. "Well you're not going anywhere until this is fixed up," she spoke, looking back to him, "so start talking."

(-)

Lara helped him back to their cabin, and lye him on the sofa that still remained upright. She lifted his shirt, and started to fix the bloodied gauze.

"So?" she began, impatiently waiting for Kurtis to talk.

"That woman's name is Mariana" he told her with hesitance. "I've known her my entire life, and I've known that she's evil."

"So why didn't you do something about her."

"I couldn't." he stated. "She's been against the Lux Veritatis since the beginning, and she's impossible to kill."

"Why is that?"

"Something happened a while back." he said and then paused as to avoid the question. "She's a demon."

"Great." Lara said with a sarcastic smile. "So why hasn't she killed you before, if she was against the Lux Veritatis?"

"I don't know." he spoke as he sighed, "She and my father where enemies, and she killed my mother." he paused. "But for some reason, she would never touch me. It was like she wanted to be my friend."

"So you just make friends with demons?"

Kurtis looked at her with indecisive eyes. "Six years ago, I left the Lux Veritatis." he told her. "I couldn't take being their puppet anymore, so I decided to go out on my own." he paused, not wanting to tell her the truth. "I started operating _less than legal_ operations for the people who were against the clan, and against my father." he looked down at the words. "Mariana helped me."

"Just like that?" Lara asked, confused. "You trusted someone that killed your mother and wanted to destroy your clan?"

"I didn't have a choice." he stated. "I knew she worked for the Cabal, but getting back at the Veritatis sounded great. I didn't know what I was doing. I was young and stupid."

"Apparently." Lara said, then suddenly stopped with realization. "Wait, if she worked for the Cabal, then _you_ worked for the them." Lara unholstered her pistol at this thought.

"Yeah." Kurtis answered, unsurprised by her action. "I helped them get certain commodities." Kurtis wiped the sweat from his forehead "Guns, explosive, medical equipment. If they needed it, I got it for them." he shook his head. "I started talking to my father again, and realized what I was doing." Kurtis's face turned to anger, and he clenched his fist. "Then Eckhardt-" he stopped with correction, "or Karel, or whoever the fuck was in charge had him killed."

Lara put her gun down. "So they betrayed you."

"Not so surprisingly yeah." He said with a fake smile, wanting to kill himself inside. "They used me to get to my father, because he was the man that kept the clan unified and strong." He starred at her. "After that, I swore that Eckhardt and his organization would fall." he stopped. "And I was a fucking idiot."

Lara jumped as Kurtis suddenly stood up and angrily kicked over a table that sat in front of them. He quickly sat back down however, a sudden dizziness plaguing his mind.

Lara put her hand on his face, and turned it toward her. "You didn't know." she spoke, trying to comfort him. "It's not your fault."

They starred at each other for several seconds, each with thoughts of how they felt toward the other. They were still, as if in a trance, their eyes fixed together with slight comfort and closeness.

Lara felt as though she couldn't move, and she was angered by this action. She had done it, seemed weak in front of Kurtis, and made him think that she cared. Her thoughts grew deeper as the feelings continued. _Did _she care?

Lara gazed at the paralyzing eyes with wonder, until she pulled herself away in an uncomfortable fashion. She looked at him strangely, then tried to end the silence between them.

"We should be in Lyon in a few minutes." she spoke, slightly shaken by her thoughts. "I'll go get our stuff."

She began to walk away, and suddenly felt Kurtis's hand grasp her own. She slowly turned back to him, not knowing what to expect. She was afraid.

Kurtis stared at her silently, which had Lara slightly worried about his intentions. She was surprised as he let out a simple "thank you" and released her hand.

Lara stared at him once again with mixed thoughts and comprehension, until looking away and hastily leaving the room.

Lara stopped and leaned against the wall as she entered the interconnecting hallway of the next car. She closed her eyes and deeply exhaled, still thinking of Kurtis. She bit her lip, and once again shook her head to delay the thoughts. They meant nothing, just anxiety over her situation.

She felt strangely different as she continued forward to get their luggage.

**A/N Ok guys, I know it's been a while since I've edited anything, but one of my best friends was killed March 11th, so I've been kinda spaced out.** **I'll definitely try to pick up the pace a little because I'm really anxious about the new game and all my Tomb Raider senses are booming. I'd really like some more reviews though. Maybe my story is just to long for a lot of people to read.**


	7. Safehouse

Chapter 7

Lara wanted the train to hurry up. She felt her nervousness rise every second that Kurtis Trent's eyes were upon her. She had to say something, anything to break the feelings and take away her never-ending thoughts of him.

"So" she forced herself to end the silence and her wavering anxiousness. "How did it all begin?"

"What?" Kurtis asked.

"The Lux Veritatis." Lara answered his idiotic response. "You can't tell me that one day a man just woke up and had magical powers."

"No." he returned with slight disregard, "It actually started long before anyone realized it. Many men have had the gift I have, and never knew it was in them." Kurtis repositioned himself, knowing that this was going to take a while.

"As you know, Sir Augustine was the first. He lived in North Africa for most of his life, until one day his family was brutally murdered by an unknown enemy." Kurtis paused as though thinking.

Lara staring deeply in his eyes taking in every word, her previous thoughts of betrayal now a mere memory.

"It's written," he continued "that in a fit of rage, Augustine killed the men using the first true Veritatis forces."

"But what made him different from everyone else?" Lara curiously asked.

"His bloodline." Kurtis replied. "After the strange happenings, Augustine decided to search his ancestors for any other mythical cases. It just so happened, that his grandfather had had the same things happen to him, and had also traced the family bloodline. He had written a book about the entire experience, and then realized that the powers were tripped by emotional changes."

"Like getting angry." Lara cut in with a smile, recalling Kurtis's words about the man's rage.

"Exactly." Kurtis returned. "When Augustine realized what his ancestry held, he knew why he was able to do such things. His first male ancestor was not human." he paused not wishing to finish the statement. "He was a Nephilim."

Lara felt her heart sink once again as he spoke the words. The Lux Veritatis were actually descendants of the dark angels? He was admitting to her suspicions. She stared at Kurtis with unbelieving eyes. In truth, he was actually the enemy._"No Lara. He said they were decedents, not the actual things."_ She wanted to raise her pistol, but smiled to herself instead as the words were processed. A Nephilim would never have openly admitted to such things, hence Kurtis was not a Nephilim. _"Don't get ahead of yourself. You don't know anything for sure."_

She hid her confused emotions as Kurtis continued.

Kurtis could see the slight disappointment and worry in Lara's eyes that he had seen before at the mention of the Nephilim. He quickly continued as to ease her thoughts. "Augustine wanted to find others like him, so he secretly started a search. Eventually he found seven others with the same mentality that he had, so all of them became known as the elders. Five of them were men, and two were women. Augustine eventually fell in love with one of the other Nephilim descendants, and married her. They then had a son named Galahad, who-"

"A knight of the round table." Lara cut him off.

Kurtis nodded. "He became the first true Lux Veritatis leader."

"So what happened to the elders?"

"Some had children with one another and passed the gene down, but eventually they all died out as the members began relationships with normal humans."

"And Sir Augustine actually permitted such correlations?" Lara began.

"He did." Kurtis simply stated. "After his wife was possessed by a wraith."

Lara looked at Kurtis with great surprise. "What?" she asked with an unbelieving hesitance. Her voice lowered with hesitation. "So they were forced to kill her?"

"No. It was impossible." Kurtis replied. His features grew pale with his words as unforgotten memories returned. "She's still alive." He said with a fake smile. "Remember Mariana?"

Lara stared at him with disbelief. A rock entered her stomach at the words.

"Back then," Kurtis continued, "before the Veritatis had contained them, the evils were free to roam the world."

"Well the wraiths can apparently be killed," Lara quickly stated, remembering Kurtis's attack at the museum. "So why is Mariana any different."

"Because her host was such a powerful being."

Lara looked away. The new information ran throughout her mind as she took it in. She couldn't imagine how it must have felt to watch the person you love turn against you, destined to destroy your life.

The silence returned once again, and Lara pondered Kurtis. Whoever he was, he definitely wasn't who she thought, and he definitely wasn't to be trusted.

(-)

Lara and Kurtis tried to keep to themselves, not only to avoid one another, but to keep from attracting any unwanted attention.

They stood, waiting silently and cautiously, as the train slowly came to screeching halt. Lara carefully peered out of the now retracted steel door, hand on her holstered weapon, waiting for their demon stalker to again make herself present. Assured it was clear, she slowly stepped to the cement platform, and off of the train. Kurtis followed, and they quickly and promptly made their way through the nearly empty station.

Lara glanced at a large clock mounted on the wall as they neared the door. She saw that it was nearly eleven o'clock , and knew that catching a cab would be difficult at this hour. Her hand met the thick glass of the station's doors. She pushed forward and felt the cold breeze of night across her face.

She looked to Kurtis, expecting information on where he planned to go, but she heard nothing. Instead, she watched as he directed her to follow him, and they continuously walked several blocks before finally stopping. She knew that Kurtis was trying to lose anyone who might be following them, and admired the action.

"All right." Lara began. "You wanted to take a train. Now what?"

"I said there was a safehouse in Rhone."

"I know." Lara impatiently stated. "But _where_ exactly in Rhone."

"House 10452 on Boulger Street." he flatly said. "It's not that far out of the city. I'd say less than forty miles away."

"That's great." Lara said with a smile. "But where are you going to find a cab driver willing to drive forty miles out of town at this hour?"

"That's what this is for." Kurtis stated as he brought a large wad of cash from his pack.

"And we're did you steal that from?" Lara asked with a smirk of sarcasm.

Kurtis smiled, returning her smirk. "Lots of places."

Lara watched as Kurtis searched the empty streets for a taxi. After a long wait, he finally spotted one about a block away. He quickly raised his arm as the white and green car came to a stop in front of them.

"Remember when I left you in the Guildford Station?" he asked.

Lara nodded. She saw him gesture once again to the money in his hand.

"Seat 15 in Section D. Just in case I ever needed it."

"And why would you tell me this?" Lara curiously asked.

"Just to show that I trust you." Kurtis replied, as he sat their bags in the trunk of the car.

Lara smiled as Kurtis opened the cab door and gestured for her to get in. She began toward the seat but then stopped and looked back into his hypnotizing eyes. "I wish I could say the same."

(-)

The cigarette was thrown to the ground as it's light flickered out. A trail of smoke erupted as a black boot pressed against the white paper lined with tobacco. It's user lifted her head, careful not to draw attention to herself as she stood on the block corner of a back street in Lyon . She gently brushed the blonde hair away from her eyes as his vision appeared before her. She smiled as she saw him, and gently bit her lower lip.

She then saw _her_. Lara Croft. The possessed form clenched it's immortal host's fist at the angelic form. The braided hair and hidden holsters that hung under the bitches light coat. Mariana let out a light exhale of aggravation as the thoughts of this European beauty arose, their encounter at the museum, and then recently on the train. Miss Croft was keeping her from her objective, Kurtis.

She had waited for them at the train station, and followed them as they left, focusing on Kurtis, and caring less about the person accompanying him. The demon watched with contempt as Kurtis opened the door of a cab, and helped the woman in. He was smiling.

Mariana clenched her teeth as the cab drove off, headed in the direction of Rhone.

She casually paced herself to the payphone that was placed directly beside her. She dialed the familiar number with ease, proud of the information she would contribute.

"Hello?" the familiar wickedness Mariana had hoped for answered.

"Their headed toward Rhone." she spoke. "They should arrive there within an hour."

"I thought you were going to finish it on the train." the evil man spoke with commanding structure though his tone never changed.

"I ran into some complications." Mariana explained. "There was-"

"I don't care about complications." the voice interrupted with anger. "Find Kurtis Trent and kill him! This time no excuses!"

The line went dead and Mariana quickly hung up with agitation, ready to gather her wraiths for a visit to Rhone.

(-)

Lara thought it would be easier to put the driver at gunpoint, but Kurtis didn't want the man giving the safehouse address to the police afterward. He paid the cab driver a huge amount of money, which Lara thought was outrageous, but she was forced to keep to herself as the ignorant driver finally agreed to take them out of the city-limits.

Kurtis and Lara tried not to speak during the ride, just to prevent accidently saying something that would be overheard by the idiot in the front seat.

Lara was wide awake from her long nap on the train, but she could see that Kurtis was tired. She unnoticeably watched him as he would close his eyes and drift off, then quickly jerk and wake himself up. Lara found it amusing after a while, but forced herself to stop tormenting him in her mind.

She watched as the night grew deeper and darker turning into a devious trap that preyed upon them. She stared into the shadows wondering if they were being followed, or if Kurtis's hunters knew where he was going. She knew that the demons, or whatever they were, would constantly be on their trail, never stopping their hunt for the last knight of the Lux Veritatis, if that was indeed who he was.

She looked at Kurtis, who had finally settled and drifted to sleep, with almost a protective sense of caring. She felt herself smiling as thoughts of him occurred. She was almost sad that she didn't trust him. She wanted to, but all the signs were there. Kurtis could have easily been a Nephilim, but if not, the possibility of him working for one was just as strong of a theory. Though her assumptions had ground for argument, she still felt uneasy when the subject appeared in her mind. He didn't have the presence of evil that she had become accustomed to. He was more like a confused child tangled within a conspiracy that he had no knowledge of and wanted no part-

Her thoughts were distracted as an obnoxious "Hey!" sounded from the front seat.

"What!" she loudly and aggravatedly shouted in return to the large, balding driver.

"Your stop's just up ahead." he stated with impatience in questionable English. "I suggest you wake up your friend, cause I ain't waiting for you to get situated once we-"

"Just shutup and fuckin drive." Lara flatly but demandingly stated. She rubbed the side of her head as a throbbing pain emerged.

After a few short minutes, they appeared within a small town that seemed old and abandoned. Lara gently woke Kurtis, knowing that they were almost there.

Lara stared out of the window as they turned on Boulger Street, searching for the numbers 10452 to be marked on the side of one of the small houses.She watched as the cab came to a halt by a small white house that seemed no larger than a single apartment. The roof was falling apart, and overgrown plants covered most of its sides.

She helped Kurtis take their bags from the trunk of the cab, as the driver constantly yelled for them to hurry up.

Lara smiled as Kurtis flipped the man off and continued with the luggage.

Once finished, the two walked to the entrance. Lara was amazed as she watched Kurtis close his eyes and place his hands against the front door. The solid bolt of the door suddenly glowed red and quickly unlocked. He opened the door and entered as Lara followed closely behind.

"_God he is amazi-"_ Lara stopped the thought, she wouldn't allow such emotions into her mind. She quickly entered the house to distract herself.

Lara searched the interior of the house for something of interest, but saw very little. They entered the home into a small kitchen, which led directly into a living area. There were seats placed periodically throughout the rooms, and the ceiling and floor were graced by water and rust stains.

Lara saw several papers lying on the small kitchen table, and used dishes lying in the sink. She wondered why a random safehouse would have such objects, unless Kurtis had been staying here for a while, to keep in the shadows and not be noticed.

"Nice place." Lara falsely stated.

"It's a shit-hole." Kurtis simply replied and led Lara down a short hallway. He forced open a stubborn door midway down. "This room should be alright."

Lara walked inside the surprisingly tidy room. There was a double bed by the wall, a large dresser beside it, and a huge mirror standing in the corner. She saw the moonlight shining through a curtained window on the opposite side of the room.

"I take it you use this place a lot." she stated, wondering how he knew the placement of the rooms.

"If you call the past three years _a lot_," he sarcastically replied, "then yeah."

She calmly walked into the room. "Thanks." She quietly said as she sat her bags on the floor. She heard Kurtis backing away, and quickly stopped him. "I was wondering," she began "if I might have a hot shower before going to bed."

Kurtis looked at her, surprised that she had actually asked to do something, and not done it anyway. "Yeah." he stated. "Sure." He led her to the end of the hall, and opened a door that lye straight ahead. "Bathroom's in here." he told her, then opened another door beside it. "I'll be in here if you need anything."

Lara watched him enter what appeared to be another bedroom, and close the door. She was surprised at how nice he was when he was tired. Lara blew in annoyance as she felt herself biting her lower lip.

The thought of a hot shower distracted the movement however, and she quickly undressed. Lara walked to the bath, but was surprised to see no knobs or handles to turn on the water with, only a long steel rod. She new that the house was really old, and the delay of a shower caused her to rub her head in pain. She grabbed the perch and tried her best to turn the water on, but nothing happened. She was becoming impatient.

Kurtis lay face down on the rock-hard mattress and closed his eyes. He grabbed his waist with a sigh of pain, one he had been hiding from Lara all day. He felt sleep upon him as he finally relaxed.

Kurtis jumped with surprise as an angered scream came from the bathroom. He sat up and quickly grabbed his Boran X, afraid that Lara was in trouble. He was relieved however as the scream was followed by a "How the hell to you turn this damn thing on!" in the rarely graceful feminine voice. He smiled to himself and holstered his gun.

Lara was surprised as she heard a knock at the bathroom door. She quickly wrapped a towel around her body and opened it, pistol in hand. She lowered the gun immediately as Kurtis's face appeared in front of her, his eyes tired, a barely visible grin gracing his features.

She quickly stood to the side as he entered the small room and silently walked to the bath. She watched as he pulled the rod straight out, and turned it to the left. Water began to flow through the faucet on the opposite side of the shower. He quickly pushed the rod upward, and the water was redirected to the showerhead above him.

Lara was slightly embarrassed as he turned to face her. She saw him wearing a slight smile and she couldn't help returning it.

"I never thought the hardest puzzle I'd ever solve would be turning on a shower." she said as he went to leave.

"They can be complicated sometimes." he sarcastically stated, turning back toward her.

"Sorry for that." she spoke lowly. "But thanks."

She admiringly watched as Kurtis smiled and finally left, closing the door. Lara leant against the wall for several minutes simply thinking about Kurtis. She had to admit that he was a lot better person than she had taken him for, and he-

Her mind stopped as memories occurred, memories of Kurtis and her's conversation from the train. He _wasn't _to be trusted. Lara felt disappointment within her midst. She didn't want the _coincidences _to be true, but she wasn't sure. So, for the time being, Kurtis Trent was her temporary ally, and her enemy.

She rejected the thoughts with a shake of her head, and climbed into the shower. She sighed with pleasure as the hot water flowed down her tired skin.


	8. The Truth

**It's been an extremely long while since I've updated, but hopefully I'll get back into the mood of it. For anyone still interested this one is complete...hopefully. ;)**

Chapter 8

Lara had laid out her guns on the living room coffee table and was quickly wiping them down with a white cloth, a habit she often did when she was bored, tired, or nervous.

She was interrupted as Kurtis walked into the room and settled on the sofa adjacent to the one in which she sat. Her thoughts of him returned as she uncomfortably watched the man from across the small room. He didn't speak, but calmly twirled his prototype pistol around his index finger, as if it were a simple toy.

The silence was unbearable. She wanted to ask him about their destination, but didn't want to sound pushy.

"Couldn't sleep?" She simply asked.

Kurtis nodded his head, and the silence returned.

Lara could feel herself shaking with aggravated anticipation. She forcefully shoved the 9mm clip back into the gun.

"This map," she finally spoke out, actually more uncomfortable than before. "You're sure you know where it is?"

He tiredly looked up at her with agitated eyes. "Pretty much, yeah." he answered. "It's written that the map to the vial is found where Sir Augustine himself, 'bore his people's will.'"

Lara' eyes ran back and forth across the floor, still unconvinced about the map. She wanted to be sure of things before running out and screwing everything up. Kurtis apparently saw her concern and continued trying to gain her trust.

"The oldest Lux Veritatis stronghold is found in Annaba." he went on. "It was abandoned after Sir Augustine died. I'm almost certain that's where he ruled." He paused, wondering about her weariness. "Why?" he asked "Are you concerned?"

"No." Lara answered, as calmly as she could. " But hopefully this little escapade will go by as smooth and quickly as possible. I don't want any-" she paused "_-unnecessary interaction _between the two of us."

Kurtis was slightly taken aback by her remark about the two of them. "So you're concerned about _us_?"

He saw Lara suddenly look at him with annoyance, and he could see that her statement had accidentally slipped out. He slightly grinned as she looked away, and continued speaking as to end her discomfort.

"Well I know where the map is," he stated "but I have no idea where the Vial itself is located."

"That's what maps are for." Lara quickly returned. She tried to hold back her sarcasm, but the habit was hard to break. "But Sir Augustine," she began again, "I thought he eventually gave up on the Christian faith."

"He did." Kurtis simply said. He slightly tucked his head. "And so did I."

"So why go back now?" she curiously asked. "Just because your ass is in trouble."

"I think that's the main reason." he said with a smile which quickly faded. "Among other things," he paused "revenge sounds good."

"It always does." she agreed before a sudden silence fell between them.

Kurtis deeply stared at her, almost in regret of not telling her the whole truth of the matter.

"The sooner the better." Lara quickly said breaking the silence and Kurtis's longing stare. "Once you find this _Vial_, you can drink it, or whatever you do with the stuff, and the world will be safe once again."

"Yeah." Kurtis half answered. He eagerly looked at her, thinking.

"What is it?" Lara asked him. He suddenly seemed different, nervous.

Kurtis thought with urgency. He needed to tell her _now,_ he wanted to.

Lara neared him. Something was wrong. He was hesitant toward her, as if he didn't want her to see something.

Kurtis was anxious to see her response, and scared.

Lara stood, unwanted curiosity and wonder in her motions. "What are you keeping from me?"

He knew the longer he waited, the harder it would be to gain her trust. He had to tell her.

"Alright." he finally gave in to himself. "I haven't been completely honest with you."

Lara looked at him without shock, "What a surprise." she sarcastically stated. She had come to expect these things. What had he been lying about know?

He glared at her for a long moment before beginning his explanation. "The vial," he slowly started, "isn't the last step in this process." he paused and then started again, more agitated, as if rambling to himself. "After I find it, it will be at least four years before the thing will even give me the power to make someone a Lux Veritatis."

Lara was suddenly confused and scared. _"Four years?" _she thought_ "What is he talking about?" _she studied him. "Go on." she simply stated.

"The Vial won't give _me_ the ability to pass on my powers." He stopped, and stared at her for a moment which seemed an eternity. A never seen uneasiness entered his eyes as he looked at Lara, ready to pour out the plot of his _true_ destiny. He sat up tall in that movement and deeply breathed. "It will give it to my child."

Lara felt her jaw bone drop as she heard the words. "Your child?" she asked, confused. "You don't have a child." A knot entered her stomach as she comprehended his words. "Right?"

"Exactly." Kurtis spoke out. And she began to understand everything.

Lara quickly looked at him and started to back away in discomfort. She stared at his eyes with worry and disarray as she realized what he was saying.

"The Vial," Kurtis continued, standing, "will allow me to give the Veritatis gene to-" he paused "-a woman." He could sense Lara's uneasiness. "An elder can only be created when one of its parents is a pureborn descendant of a Nephilim. That's what the Vial of Kindred Shadows is, the actual blood of Sir Augustine himself, of a Nephilim." He stared at Lara as she shook her head in disbelief, it was finally out. "I'm not the chosen savior of this world." he paused. "My child is."

Lara was in shock. _"His child?"_ she thought. The words brought a picture into her mind. She remembered Mr. Lynch at the Lancaster Museum. He had warned her about having a child, and that it would be a Nephilim if she did. Was Kurtis trying to re-breed the Nephilim race? Maybe Karel hadn't died. Maybe he was just disguised as a hansom man that needed her help. This was to awkward to be a coincidence.

Lara shook her head. Why did she care anyway? It wasn't like she would actually carry Kurtis's child, even if he asked her to. Lara, now reassured, looked back to him. "You're not asking me to do," she paused, "what I think you are, are you?"

"No." Kurtis quickly and sternly answered. He then looked at her and half smiled. "Not necessarily."

At this, Lara again became hesitant toward him.

"Your skill in archeology and _danger_," he explained, "made you the perfect person to help me find this thing. What you do afterwards is completely up to you."

Lara, though still in surprise, thought for a moment until looking back to him, her mind making a decision. "I said I'd help you," she told him, "and I will." she paused. "But only with finding the map, that's it."

Kurtis glanced at her with worry as she spoke.

"It's not my place to be hunting for something that I want no part in." she explained.

Kurtis quickly confronted her. "But you're the only person tha-"

"No." Lara spoke forcefully. "This is your burden, not mine. I'll help you find the map." she told him "But as for this Vial," she began to back away, "you're on your own."

Kurtis watched as Lara snatched her backpack off of the sofa, and quickly started down the hall, entering her room without looking back at him.

"Dammit."

(-)

Lara flung herself onto the bed and tried to relax. She felt so tired, and Kurtis's _news_ had made things even worse, if that was possible. She closed her eyes, trying her best to fall asleep.

Kurtis kicked over a nearby chair, and flung himself onto the mattress he'd left only minutes before, now regretting his decision to leave it the first time. He was so pissed at himself that he couldn't think, or sleep. He stretched himself out and stared at the ceiling trying to forget his misfortune.

(-)

The shadow itself quickly moved across the street and met its companions. Its eyes glared red as it silently spotted a small outcropped building in front of its position. The creature seemed to smile as it sniffed the air, sensing its prey.

The wraiths crept passed the nearly destroyed mailbox by the home's drive and lurked to its only entrance, the door engraved with the numbers 10452.

(-)

After a short rest, Lara had been woken by a strange noise in the hall, which turned out to be nothing more than a dust-covered clock announcing the time. It was 3:00am and she had been woken several hours before. She uncomfortably tossed back and forth through her bed sheets, finally halting her movements in a desperate attempt to relax, though she still felt uneasy. She calmed her senses and forced herself to think about Kurtis. She couldn't believe what he had told her earlier. The world was in danger, not only until he found the Vial, but until he actually had a kid. Why hadn't he told her earlier? It was like he was saving it for later. Maybe he had been scared of the reaction she would have, as well he should've been. But was she overreacting? After all, helping him find the thing didn't mean that she would actually have to use it. Leaving now would be like condemning the world. There was no way Kurtis could do this alone.

"_No"_ she interrupted herself. This was not her place. She didn't want to get mixed up in all this ancient Veritatis clan mess. Besides, she needed to get away from him. The more she stayed around him the more she liked-

Her thoughts were interrupted as a dark shadow suddenly moved outside, passing by the window. She instantly sat up, and grabbed the 9mm from under her pillow. She could hear herself breathe as she slowly neared the window pane. She flattened herself against the wall, and silently peered through a crease between the window curtain and the glass. She anxiously watched. The silence was agonizing.

Lara slowly lifted her gun as she saw a black shape move near the bushes outside. She curiously watched as the strange ghost-like creature peered at the side of the house, searching for something, that _something_ no doubt being Kurtis.

Lara cursed as the object suddenly turned and darted away as though it had seen her.

She quickly ran to the bedroom door, opened it, and hurriedly started for Kurtis' room. Her movement instantly stalled as she heard a slight ruffled noise above her.

Lara slowly lifted her gun, and prepared herself. A eerie feeling entered her mind as the sense of nothing was all around her. She knew something was there, but it seemed so distant. She cautiously continued, weary of everything around her. She was almost at his door, it was right in front of her, less than fifteen feet. She had to warn him.

Her body suddenly halted as she felt another presence beside her. It was coming closer.

A dead silence filled the air and her lungs as her breathing stopped out of fear. She instantly jumped backward as a shadow-like figure fell from the ceiling, landing heavily where she had just been standing. She pointed her weapon forward as the creature growled at her, and flashed it's glowing red eyes. She pulled the trigger.

The figure let out a short scream and quickly fled. She continued shooting until she heard a second snarl behind her. She instantly fell the floor, and looked up to see the creature that was sneaking up behind her, pass overhead. She quickly fired once again and jumped to her feet, preparing to meet the shadowy beast once again.

She sighed with disbelief as she saw four more of the dark figures enter the hallway. Lara heard a scream cry out from Kurtis's room. She quickly rushed for the door, but one of the shadowed creatures quickly blocked her path. She breathed deeply, and reloaded her pistol as the beasts began toward her.

(-)

Kurtis had been awake the entire night. He regretted not telling Lara the truth from the beginning. The fact that he hadn't made his situation even more complicated. He knew that she would probably never trust him again, if she ever had before. He banged his head against his pillow and closed his eyes.

Kurtis sighed as he felt a strange sensation suddenly flow throughout his shoulder. He scratched at it, wondering what had caused-

His movements stopped as confusion occurred, his eyes meeting a faint brightness that hovered around the tattoo at his shoulder. Kurtis sat up with surprise and examined it further. It seemed like the symbol itself was actually glowing.

Kurtis jumped out of risen fear as he saw a shadow suddenly dash across the room, then disappear into a darkened corner. He grabbed his Boran X from the night-stand beside him, and quickly stood to his feet. He slowly brought himself closer to the dark niche, preparing himself.

He could see nothing, the shadow of night surrounding him. He leveled his gun, ready to kill whatever it was that had found its way into his home.

He stood, heart beating anxiously, waiting, watching the corner with readiness.

_BAM!_

Kurtis spun toward his bedroom door as he heard a gunshot suddenly fire in the hallway. "Lara." he shouted lowly to himself. He lowered his gun, and quickly began for the door, knowing that she was in trouble.

A sudden shriek of pain left his lungs and he was forced to the floor. His pistol flew from his grasp, and halted uselessly at the base of the door. He could feel the demon wraith pressed against his back, taking advantage of his interrupted mind. It's sharp claws extended, ready to kill him and finish its life's goal.

(-)

They surrounded her. The flaring of their red eyes showing brightly against the ghostly darkness of their bodies. Lara knew the situation was impossible. These demonic things apparently didn't have the ability to be killed since the previous two she had brought down with her 9mm had gotten back up, and now joined the other four. They seemed to move closer now, ready to strike her down and posses her body. Lara lowered her head as she heard another scream come from Kurtis's room. The creatures had him; he was gone. She took a deep breath, knowing this was the end.

The evil figures rushed toward her and growled.

(-)

Kurtis fought to reach the door as the creature behind him ripped into his flesh. He reached out his arm for the Boran X merely inches away. His fingertips touched it, it was nearly in his grasps.

He let out another scream as the demon tore into him even farther than before. He had to reach the gun, he had to reach Lara. In desperation and rage he forced his arm forward to the point that he felt his muscles tearing apart. His hand continued toward the weapon; he ignored the pain, pushing it aside with desperation.. He finally had it! Kurtis quickly gripped the gun, lifted it from the floor, and slung it over his shoulder.

The wraith shrieked as the bullet entered its ghastly body. The demon left Kurtis's back for a mere second, trying to escape the pain. Kurtis quickly forced himself around to meet the creature face to face, knowing that the shot had only stunned it.

The creature slightly stumbled backward, then rushed its attack once again. Kurtis was struck down as the wraith grappled his chest, ripping away his shirt, and part his pale skin.

Kurtis felt a burning fire in his upper arm and his body instantly went numb. He grabbed at the source-

and cried out in pain as the heat of the mysterious fire in his shoulder instantly burnt his hand. He quickly ripped it away, a dim light beginning to flow from where the strange pain had originated.

He breathed hard, feeling as though his lungs would collapse at any moment. He didn't understand what was happening, but he wasn't the only one being effected. The wraith had stopped its advance and was slowly stepping away as though it were afraid.

(-)

Lara saw the strange creatures suddenly back away as a bright light glowed through the outer edges of Kurtis's bedroom door. The creatures looked to one another as if in fear of something unknown to her. They instantly faced Lara again, more urgent to finish her than before. The demonic figures were saving her for something. Maybe their leader was with Kurtis and they were waiting for "it" to kill her. Lara was scared, more for Kurtis than herself. She wanted nothing more than to run to his room and save him from his horrible fate. She new that whatever was happening to him, that she would soon be next.

(-)

The light burst into an amazing fire that filled the entire room. Kurtis voice rang out in a solid scream as the pain became unbearable. The wraith flung itself away in an attempt to escape, but its pace instantly slowed and it fell to the floor. The demon yelled out in an unimaginable shrieking noise that grew louder and forced Kurtis to cover his ears. He watched as the wraith began to violently spasm around the room. The demon, in a fit of rage and desperation suddenly forced itself upward, ridding itself of the strange light that harmed it, and quickly darted back toward him. Kurtis just stared as the creature fell again, and instantly spasmed upon the floor, the light slowly consuming its body until all that remained were blackened ashes.

The pain returned to Kurtis's shoulder as the light began to recede leaving the room, rushing back inside of him.

Kurtis's body then fell. He could feel the ice cold floor against his bloodshot face. Pain seared through every inch of his body, and he couldn't move, his body too weak. He had no idea what was going on or what had just happened to him, where the strange light had come from or how it had destroyed the demonic wraith, a creature he had thought impossible to destroy. But at this moment, he didn't care, all he wanted was to sleep, sleep and dream of better times, times with-

A sudden memory filled his mind with fear, and his body lurched with urgency. He remembered Lara. She was in trouble. He had to get to the hallway, he had to help her.

Though weaker than ever before, Kurtis forced himself to stand as he ran as fast as he could toward the door.

He shoved his weight upon it.


	9. An Unknown Power

Chapter 9

Kurtis's body powerfully fell into the hallway and he instantly spotted Lara. Wraiths circled her, their mouths gaped open, greedily waiting to condemn her. Kurtis angrily began toward them, ready to destroy-

His body suddenly fell to its knees as the burning pain in his shoulder returned. The light came once again, faster this time, but brighter than before and equally painful. He screamed in agony.

The demons hurriedly left Lara's side and quickly tried to evade the hallway. She saw Kurtis instantly raise his hand, his mind stopping the demons where they stood. Kurtis's eyes glowed red, identical to the wraiths as he began to yell, more out of hatred than pain. The demons suddenly let out a barbaric shrill of agonizing shrieks, and Lara flung herself to the floor, covering her ears as the demonic screams grew louder, muffling out Kurtis's yells of pain and anger.

Lara watched with disbelief as each of the creatures slowly dissolved before her eyes, until nothing remained but a thin black mist of ash upon the floor.

She slowly uncovered her ears as the room suddenly became calm, and looked at Kurtis with confusion and disbelief. He seemed out of body, as if in a dream as he stared forward, his gaze caught by nothing. She cautiously watched as he suddenly fell away from the trance, his body falling forward, connecting hard with the floor.

Lara quickly steadied herself as she crawled toward him, ready to help. She lifted him up and set his back against the hallway wall. The strange light that had come from him was now faded, but the tattoo on his shoulder glowed like fire. Then it too, returned to its natural black color.

She eyed the marking, wondering what had caused it to destroy the strange creatures. She slowly neared her fingers toward it.

A hand quickly reached out and grabbed her own.

"You don't want to do that." Kurtis's voice quietly spoke. He showed her his hand, blistered and burnt, apparently from his own curiosity. He breathed heavily as sweat ran down his forehead, his eyes closed with exhaustion.

Lara stared at him with sympathy and gratefulness before she slowly helped him up and supported his weight upon her shoulder. She guided the weak man into the living room and carefully sat him on one of the sofas.

She forcefully grabbed his face to keep him from going unconscious; he stared forward as if she wasn't there. Lara caught him as he suddenly fell toward her, and quickly supported him backward once again. She hurriedly ran to the bathroom and grabbed some towels, quickly wrapping one around the huge gash across his chest, another on the old wound at his waist, both bleeding heavily.

Kurtis suddenly shook his head violently, his mind trying to return to him. He saw Lara and started toward her.

"Don't." she quickly instructed. "You'll make it worse."

She continued wrapping his wounds, and wiped the sweat from his face. Once she was finished she cautiously swept the house for any other uninvited guest. After, she returned to him. He seemed to be coming back to reality, and already looked stronger.

"Who-" Lara stopped with correction, "or _what_ where those thing?

"I already told you," Kurtis spoke with confusion, "Wraiths."

"No." Lara returned, shaking her head, recalling the _wraith_ that had attacked them on the train. "These were different, not humans but-"

"They're another type of wraith, they're-" Kurtis explained, but couldn't finish, his breath giving out.

Lara didn't press him further, she accepted his words. "So why haven't we seen them before?"

"They're the same as the ones that attacked me at the museum and on the train," he forced his words through his tiredness, "but those were in human form."

"Human form? Like the blonde woman?"she thought of the name. "Mariana?"

Kurtis nodded. "These things are demons." He spoke lightly. "They have two forms. What you just saw is their demonic form. Their impossible to kill when in this stage. The other is when they posses a person. But you can kill them once they have a physical form."

"Then why do they use humans at all?" she asked. "If it will get them killed then it's pointless."

"To get close to me." he answered as he spastically winced between words. "They can't be recognized as wraiths when they look like humans and could be around us at any time."

"So what keeps them from possessing me?" Lara continued, a look of fear in her eyes.

Kurtis met her glance with a dead silence. He shook his head as he deeply breathed. "Nothing."

He forced himself up even though Lara tried to stop him. He slowly staggered across the room before staring out of the window. Lara could see him grab his stomach wound and grimace. "I thought you said they were impossible to kill." she began with curiosity.

"What do you mean?" he looked back to her, confused.

"Well," she started with a grin, and pointed into the hallway "The ones in there are certainly dead."

"I don't know what happened." Kurtis spoke almost to himself. "This must be something unwritten."

He walked to her, and met her face to face. His strength had returned, and Lara was surprised at how quickly he seemed to recover. She knew that the mysterious tattoo must have aided in the healing just as it had aided in saving his life.

"I didn't do anything." he continued anxiously, nervous-like. He gripped her hand, his own shaking. "A wraith attacked me in my room. I heard you, and tried to help." he paused as his fingers met his temple."I was mad, and then this light came from nowhere, I didn't underst-"

"It's your tattoo." She spoke softly, gripping his shoulder, trying to calm his mind and help him to understand. "You said that Sir. Augustine destroyed the vandals when they killed his family. He killed them because he was angry, and that his rage had spawned the powers." she stared at his eyes and smiled "Maybe the vandals were wraiths, and maybe his anger caused them to die."

He looked at her with amazement, the thought had never occurred to him. She was new to the ancient legends, and already she had put the pieces together.

"You were angry." she continued. "So your gift grew and saved our lives. Just like Augustine." She paused. "What I don't understand is why these things would attack you if they knew about this."

"Maybe they didn't." Kurtis returned. "I've never seen anything like this before. Everything's changing."

"Maybe for the better." Lara spoke with a smile. "You definitely seem to heal fast now." She unwrapped the bandage on his chest to find nothing but the remains of a scar, which also seemed to rapidly fade away.

"I don't understand." he repeated, watching the wound with disbelief. He looked back to Lara, his mouth remaining open with confusion.

She smiled at him, and he stared at her. She was amazing, _everything _about her was amazing. He felt strange as he thought of her. For once, it actually seemed like she trusted him. He smiled.

Kurtis slowly lent down, moving toward her, coming nearer with every heartbeat. He saw her tempting lips before him, alluring him closer, begging him to kiss her.

He watched with disappearing hopes as she quickly moved away from him.

"Don't." she sternly but quietly said, not wishing to hurt his feelings. She looked deeply at him as she slowly backed away and walked toward to her room. Quietly closing the door with an aura of uncomfortableness.

Lara stared at the floor, contemplating Kurtis's actions. She felt herself exhale loudly as she thought of him. _"He's injured Lara."_ She told herself. _"He didn't know what he was doing."_

Lara shook her head, wiping Kurtis's attempt to kiss her from her mind. She grabbed her backpack and sorted her things, ready to leave this unsafe place.

Kurtis wanted to slap himself as he watched he leave. He knew that trying to kiss her was the wrong thing to do at that moment, but the urge was unbearable. He felt slightly embarrassed as he watched her return a few moments later, dressed as he remembered her, as though she were raiding some tomb.

She walked to him. "Is there somewhere else we can spend the night?" She asked as if his former actions had never occurred. "It would be foolish to stay here."

"Yeah." Kurtis spoke, with slight embarrassment. "Give me a minute."

Lara watched him continue to his room. He respawned a few minutes later, dressed and packed for what seemed a short trip, though she new it would belong. "Lets go." he spoke as he passed beside her, forcing himself to stay standing as he made his way back out of the house.

Lara followed him outside and quickly mounted the motorcycle he retrieved from under a nearly fallen shed, sitting behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. After his previous act, she felt even more uncomfortable about riding with him, but she eluded the thoughts and forced herself to smile. She closed her eyes as they drove off in the opposite direction from which they came, towards Villeurbane Airport.


	10. Annaba

Chapter 10

The remaining hours of the night drifted into the feeling of years, as Lara and Kurtis sat in the empty airport, anxiously waiting for the clock before them to read 9:00am. They had been sitting in the same, hard, steel-rimmed chairs for nearly five hours. A never coming sleep plaguing their minds.

Lara's thoughts were racing. She didn't understand how the demons had found them at the safehouse. Unless Kurtis had brought them their. _"He wouldn't have."_ Lara told herself. _"If he'd have brought them there, he wouldn't have been attacked. Unless he faked it." _The assumption had never occurred until now, but it quickly left her mind as it drifted into an impossibility. Another suddenly made itself present, one even worse. She thought of how Kurtis had healed so rapidly, something that nobody could do, something no _human_ could do.

She glanced at him, her recently renewed trust in him completely disappearing once again. He had the tattoo, the possible mark of the Nephilim. He wanted to have a child, rebreeding his ancestral race perhaps. He healed with inhuman capabilities and he had worked for the Cabal. Was he a nephilim, or was he Kurtis Trent? Or, was _Kurtis Trent _a Nephilim?

Something was wrong. He was _not_ to be trusted, even though she wanted herself too. If he wasn't working for the Cabal-or whoever it was-he definitely knew something she didn't. It didn't matter. As soon as he had the Vial, she would be gone. It wouldn't be her problem anymore.

But what if he was innocent? Then she was leaving him for nothing, condemning the world for nothing. _"No."_ she sternly corrected herself. She was leaving for a good reason. _"What?"_ she asked herself.

She didn't know the answer.

Lara gasp loudly as she felt his hand against her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Kurtis asked in the strange instant, confused by her weary action.

"Nothing." Lara replied with a fake smile, so casual as not to raise suspicion. She looked away and stared at the clock. It was fifteen minutes until 9:00am "We had better go."

(-)

Lara didn't want to fall asleep. She wanted to watch Kurtis, watch his every move, study him. Her mind overcame her however, and she awoke less than half an hour before the plane was scheduled to land. "We're almost there." she heard a voice speak out beside her.

Kurtis sat still, staring forward. Lara cursed herself for falling asleep. _"You're an a plane Lara. I seriously doubt he could do anything suspicious, much less move around."_ The thoughts comforted her, but several questions ran through her mind, begging her to ask Kurtis.

She watched him from the corner of her eyes as he constantly rubbed his shoulder as though in pain. He pulled his collar down and exposed the strange black circle that appeared upon his shoulder. He studied it, as though the tattoo were new.

Lara curiously stared at him. "That's beautiful." She stated, eyeing the marking and remembering the detailed patterns it held when she had studied it the day Kurtis had appeared on her doorstep, and the mystical powers it had summoned the previous night.

Kurtis quickly covered the tattoo as Lara continued to stare.

"What is it with you?" She asked, slightly aggravated at his action. "I've seen that damn thing a thousand times, but when I try to look at it closer, you cover it up like your embarrassed by it."

"I am." Kurtis spoke with a smile. "And you're not supposed to see it anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Kurtis seemed hesitant at their discussion. He stared at her, his mind determining whether or not to explain the truth to her. "Fuck it." he finally stated to himself. "The damn thing isn't a tattoo." He paused as Lara's eyebrows arched with wonder. "It's a brand."

"A brand?" Lara asked, slightly confused.

"Not like one that you put on animals." he explained. "More like"-his mind stalled, trying to find the right words. "-more like a birth mark."

"I've never seen a birthmark quite so elaborate, or one that possesses magic powers." Lara stated with sarcasm and disbelief.

"Then again, you've never seen a Lux Veritatis before either."

"What?" Lara asked with a confused and sarcastic smile. "It's some kind of cult marking?"

She slightly laughed.

"Yeah." Kurtis stated, breaking Lara's smile. "All the decedents of the Lux Veritatis are born with this damn symbol on their shoulder."

"For what purpose?" Lara asked, her attitude changing from disbelief to curiousness. "Why would the members of the occult want to advertize their heritage to the world. It would make them easier targets."

"It isn't like that." Kurtis returned. "It's not just some pointless symbol that appears on certain children. It's more like a recognition mark."

"So you'd know who's who." Lara stated.

"And, so we'd know who wasn't." He replied. "All the Lux Veritatis pursuers would've loved to have been able to copy the brand, that way they could easily have gotten into one of the ancient fortresses. But the detailing of the mark is so elaborate that it would be impossible to replicate." he paused. "Other than that, it been known to act as a key. Only the people that have it can enter certain places in Annaba, and as far north as Moscow."

Lara wanted nothing more than to go to him and study the ancient figure. The thought of thousands of people have the identical marking upon their body fascinated her. She started to move but stopped herself. She needed to stay as far away from Kurtis as possible. Her previous thoughts of him slightly scared her. She didn't want to go through such things again.

"So every Lux Veritatis had this exact marking on the exact same place of their body?" Lara replied, trying to end her cravings with knowledge.

"The marking was always the same," Kurtis continued. "but it only appeared on the men's shoulders." he paused as he looked to her. "The women's brand always appeared on their lower backs."

Lara felt her heart stop as forgotten memories returned. _"Their backs!"_ Lara mind screamed out. The words were familiar. Something called to her, telling her to be suspicious. Their was something wrong with his words. She focused her thoughts with remembering.

"_Mr. Lynch at the museum! The mark of the Nephilim!"_ She stared forward, her trust in Kurtis evaporating completely.Mr. Lynch had wanted to study her back when she had went to see him. He was looking for the symbol of the Nephilim, the symbol that appeared on Kurtis's shoulder. Lara felt her jaw slightly drop.

Something didn't feel right about her thoughts. Her suspicions suddenly changed. Mr. Lynch had seemed different that day, so much that she held less trust in _him_ then she did Kurtis. Something was telling her that for once, she _shouldn't_ trust her instincts.

"_The mark couldn't be of the Nephilim." _her mind stated. _"Kurtis would never have let me see the brand if it were. He wouldn't have known whether or not I had knowledge of such things, or if I had ever seen it before." _

Kurtis had openly let her see the tattoo-like marking at her home, and now, right in front of her, he had pulled his shirt down, revealing it without hesitance. Such actions wouldn't have been carried out by a human-disguised Nephilim that was trying to gain her trust. He would've given himself away.

Lara felt herself sigh, a slight trust she had in Kurtis slowly returning.

Kurtis stared at Lara. She seemed to be having a conversation with herself. Her eyes moved rapidly across the floor as thoughts spurred within her mind. He knew she didn't trust him. He sighed at the thought, wondering what he had said to spawn her feelings once again.

Lara looked away with silence, not wishing to show her suspicions even though Kurtis stared at her. Her in-depth thoughts were obvious.

(-)

The hooded figure's eyes flashed crimson as he glared at the figure before him. "You let them escape!"

"The wraiths ran into another difficulty." Mariana spoke under her breath, her eyes closed out of fear. "He's learned to control the brand."

"If you'd have listen to my instruction before hand, you'd have realized the flaw in your previous statement." he angrily spoke. "Not the fact that the brand's power has been unleashed, but the fact that the wraiths are trying to accomplish what _you_ were told to pursue. These creatures are mere dogs, following your lead. You are the one who needs to destroy Trent, not them!"

"I already tried to kill him myself." Mariana explained, holding back her anger. "I can't get near him while that Croft bitch is around, she's too-"

"What?" the Master spoke with sarcasm. "You're actually admitting to being lesser than the Croft woman? Are you afraid of her?"

Mariana's eyes turned black with hatred at the words. "No."

"Then _fuck_ her!" he screamed. "Finish the assignment! And this time try to do it without losing your target!"

Mariana nodded as she closed her eyes once again, realizing that she hadn't explained the truth of it all.

"There's more." she spoke softly, with fear. The Master's silence confirmed that she continue. "I think he's starting to care about her."

A grin covered the hooded figures shadowed features. "So that explains your frown this visit." the slight grin turned into a smile. "Good. Jealousy will make you stronger, but just so you know, he hasn't loved you for years, not after he realized what you really were."

Mariana clenched her fist tighter with hidden hatred as the Master continued.

"What about our contacts?" he asked. "Have any of them been worth our payment?"

"No Sir." she spoke lightly. "But the one in Samandira and the one here are keeping out a sharp eye. They're ready to send us word of any news."

"Good. Be ready for them at each of the suspected places, especially the church."

Mariana nodded her head as she quickly lifted herself from the floor and started toward the building's exit, knowing that their conversation was through.

Her advance halted at the Master suddenly called her name. She froze.

The hooded figure glared at her with resentment. "Don't return until you've killed him."

Mariana sighed once again with newly found ease. She continued forward, ready to find Kurtis Trent, and ready to kill him, but not before she finished something more personal, not before settling a score with Lara Croft.

She quickly entered the black BMW at the base of the cathedral stairs and sped forward, opposite the direction of the airport, but the direction of Surrey, the direction of Croft Manor.

(-)

The plane's landing gear met the airstrip by the Cap Rosa Oceanside a little after 1:00p.m. Lara gazed at never before seen landscape, somehow familiar to her eyes. The scenery around her reminded her of many places she had seen before, all mixed together to form one city-state.

The quaint countryside and peaceful church-like buildings reminded her of Marseillan, a small community on the Gulf of Lions in France, while the town's large palm trees and cobbled streets reminded her of Jamaica in many ways.

She had never been to this part of Algeria. She had visited the country many times, but never its ocean ports to the north. The surroundings and climate were a lot different here than in the south. While much of Algeria was identical to the other recesses of Northern Africa, meaning desert, this part was considered strange. The sun still shown down fiercely, but the cool breeze brought in from the Mediterranean soothed a sweat drenched face.

She held her on-plane bag over her shoulder, and quickly tightened the straps on her backpack as Kurtis appeared at her side. He didn't speak, absorbed by his surrounding and the thoughts of this _map_ they were supposed to fine.

They hurriedly entered the Annaba International Airport, and gathered the few bags they had been forced to send through the luggage service. The two quickly made their way through customs, anxious to leave the congested airfield and be on their way.

They briefly searched the street as they exited the building, watching its movements and gaining a feel for the town's daily routine. The space wasn't overcrowded, but wasn't near deserted either.

The lack of a vehicle was quickly solved as Lara spotted an extremely small car and bicycle mart a few blocks down from the airport.

Kurtis wanted something small and unnoticeable that would get them to their destination quickly and would be easy to discard afterward. He found it, a piece of shit motorcycle almost too small for a passenger, with rusted-off exhaust pipes and duct-tape holding on it's seat; a large step down from the one they had rode from the safehouse, and the one lodged in the ditch at Croft Manor.

Lara quickly helped Kurtis check the bikes primary fluids, and was extremely surprised when the dilapidated metal before her actually cranked.

Kurtis refused her willing compensation to purchase the bike; it didn't cost much. The toothless seller settled for a little under fifty of Kurtis's American dollars, and the two were quickly on their way.

Lara was forced to sit closer to Kurtis when riding the nearly destroyed bike, due to the fact that if her ass was positioned only an inch further back, it would've met the pavement that rapidly sped beneath them. Her arms were tight around his form as the bike sped forward.

Kurtis wanted to get to the Hippo stronghold as soon as possible, and he and Lara made only one quick stop on the way. They set up a room for the upcoming night at a cheap motel, "The Midnight Gull", knowing that their return time would be decided by the upcoming events of the day, if they returned at all. It was much easier to find a vacancy in the evening hours than in the middle of the night.

They continued toward their destination, never stopping as they went.

Lara studied her surroundings as Kurtis drove. She stared at the sky. The scorching sun beat against her form as she road, burning her arms and singeing her back, being absorbed by the black shirt she wore, causing the heat to feel much stronger than it actually was. The outer edges of the road were lined by several variants of trees, and rocky, yet green mountains rose above their height, slightly visible over the tree tops. Lara blinked her eyes painfully at times as sand met their edges. She would make sure to put on her sunglasses before their next ride.

"_We're almost there."_ Kurtis repeatedly thought to himself. He was anxious and scared at what he would find inside the realm at Hippo, though he wasn't even 100 sure that the map would even be there. He didn't want to even think of the results of his previous thought. If it wasn't in Annaba, he would have absolutely nowhere else to look, not to mention the fact that Lara would kill him if his assumptions were proven false. The only reason he actually knew of such a place, was from the ancient lore he was taught at the age of seven, and from the time his father had actually brought him to the sacred place, for what, he had never figured out, but he was thankful he had.

He stared forward, his eyes fixed to the road, ignoring the sights around him and the beautiful woman sitting behind him, her arms wrapped around his form, something he could only dream of before, but the action seemed pointless now. He was confident in his choice to search here. Something was telling him to be, telling him that everything would be answered inside the Realm of Valor. His mind became blank at that moment, his anxiety blinding him from everything else.

Lara studied their path as Kurtis drove forward. She learned their direction and memorized their path. They had started their trip to the stronghold heading south. Kurtis had made several turns since then, the most recent leading them onto a dirt backroad, that skipped from being desert to shaded with trees. Lara confidently assumed that they were now headed East. She wanted to be sure of her location just incase Kurtis caused her to do something she didn't want to do, or if his stated plans _changed_ in any way. She had her guns ready, though she didn't want to ponder that possible outcome.

She stared once again, holding her head high, ignoring the pain in her neck from her refusal to rest it upon Kurtis's shoulder.

She looked on with curiousness as the small bike suddenly left the main round, and sped through the forest-like surroundings of the land beside it. The tires met a combination of greenery and sand as the they rode further into wilderness.

Lara felt her body suddenly push forward as the bike quickly came to a halt within a thin outcropping of tropical trees and shrubbery about two miles from the main road.

"Is this it?" she asked Kurtis before receiving a mere nod from him . She quickly threw her leg over the bike, and left its side. Kurtis repeated the action.

Lara stared at the large patch of dirt that covered the ground they stood on. It ran no less than fifteen feet around them on all sides. The patch was abnormal considering that the space surrounding it was nothing but plant-life. It created a perfect circle within the shaded area, with no signs of a _now removed _object that could have been the cause of the ground's lifelessness.

She watched as Kurtis passed by her and positioned himself in the center of the bare circle. He lowered himself to a crouch while he studied its surface. He ran his palms across the ground as if searching for something within the thin dirt that surrounded them. His hands moved in a circular motion as he slowly turned his body around, searching another place for whatever it was he was looking for.

Lara saw his expression suddenly change. He had found it.

Kurtis rapidly began brushing away the dirt around his feet. His palms moved fast, anxiously awaiting to uncover the object before him. Lara stared at the ground as the placement's edges appeared. It's light surface showed clearly through the dark grit surrounding it.

Kurtis continued brushing and blowing the dirt away, until the entire object appeared. He slowly stood and backed away.

Lara examined the stone structure placed below her. It was round and flat to the ground, similar to the manholes within a city, but larger. It was grayish-white in color, and its surface was graced by long since worn carvings that Lara could barely make out.

She crouched toward the stone figure and examined it further. The slight indentation created the resemblance of a family seal, but the lettering was completely worn, with only the remnants of "Augustine 397A.D." carved at its bottom edge.

The vision was interrupted by a hand meeting the structure's center. Kurtis placed his palm forcefully upon the stone's surface. He closed his eyes and whispered something that Lara could not understand, in language or volume. Kurtis quickly jerked away once the words had finished, his mind seeming to grimace with pain.

Lara watched with amazement and slight regret as the stone violently began to crack and crumble before her eyes, Kurtis's strange words destroying it.

The now dusted particles fell, disappearing into a black abyss of a room below the earth's surface, being formally marked for centuries by the now destroyed seal.

Lara and Kurtis's eyes were fixed upon the darkness, unknown dangers hiding in its depths, waiting for them to blindly jump down.

Lara eyes glanced toward Kurtis as he raised his own to her. She directed her hand toward the wavering pit. "You first."


	11. Ancient Stronghold

Chapter 11

Kurtis felt his feet plant firmly against hard stone as they met the bottom of the black tunnel. He quickly cracked the flare Lara had given him, and shook the acidic liquid together.

The room filled with a luminous green glow as the light in his palm reflected against the room's walls. The space was extremely roomy, wider than it was long with a high ceiling, 15 feet at the most. It was completely empty and closed in, creating a claustrophobic presence though the room was actually rather large. Kurtis studied the interior, searching for a tunnel or path of some kind that would lead away from it and into another section of the Realm. He saw nothing, nothing but a large crease in the middle of the wall before him, a closed door of some kind.

Kurtis quickly stepped away from the faint sunlight that flowed upon him from outside as Lara Croft's body landed beside him, a second glow filling the room as she lit her flare. She looked to Kurtis and smiled before walking forward to study the chamber.

Lara saw nothing of importance throughout the space, other than the large crack in its main wall. She walked toward it and raised her flare as a faint indentation became apparent across other parts of the flat surface.

The carving that ran around the large crease, and at certain points passed through it, made Lara sigh with relief. She stared at the figure of the quartered cross and smiled. She recognized the symbol from Kurtis's shoulder; her _would-be _Mark of the Nephilim.

It was the proof she needed. A symbol of the dark angels would never have appeared on the walls of a Lux Veritatis stronghold. Kurtis hadn't lied. He _was_ a Lux Veritatis, not some demonized angel. She felt herself breathe deeply with relief, relief she did not understand. She had wanted Kurtis to be who he said he was, not only to prove that she wasn't helping the Nephilim, but because she couldn't imagine the thought of him turning against her. She didn't understand the thoughts. She had wanted to cry out of sadness several times before when Kurtis had confessed suspicious things to her. Now she wanted to cry again, not out of lost distrust or happiness, but with weariness of her mental feelings toward the final Lux Veritatis warrior. She looked toward him as the strange thoughts continued.

Kurtis returned a look of confusion at Lara's sudden unexplained smile and wide eyes, before he casually looked away and moved toward the large door before him , it's opening point running the entire height of the wall. He placed his hand upon it, pondering the key needed to open it. He stared at the symbol upon its surface, the ancient and horrid marking that graced his shoulder. He cursed it, though in truth he new that _it_ was the key.

Kurtis quickly backed away from the wall and lowered his collar, revealing the marking identical to the one upon the door, with only a different placement and size. That was all he needed to do to gain entrance to this forgotten place.

Lara was silent throughout his act, staring at the man with complete mental trust. He hadn't gained her physical trust however. She definitely wouldn't fall asleep around him in a deserted place. She wanted to tell him of her confidence, but trust was a weakness, something she would never admit to, no matter who questioned her feelings.

She slightly jumped and backed away alongside Kurtis as the wall before her suddenly began to faintly glow at the center. The light was a dull red, and quickly spread up the entire length of the crease.

She watched with amazement as the large stone began to bend inward, the now split apart pieces slowly moving away from one another, separating the ancient brand, and opening a path to a new tunnel.

The space slowly became wider as the thick stone doors inched open and eventually stopped.

The companions stared at the opening for a long moment before Lara started forward. She slowly neared the open door and peered inside the newly accessible space.

A wide but short staircase was visible below her feet. She studied it before warily stepping forward.

Lara's hands instinctively met her pistols as light suddenly filled the room and torches placed periodically upon the two side walls erupted in flames. The light then faded as fast as it had appeared, leaving the eerie glow of lighted wood in several places throughout the space.

The room was tall and slightly widened, though thin compared to the previous. The high tunnel continued forward a short distance until erupting again in darkness, as no torches were placed upon its end wall, some kind of trap perhaps.

Lara felt her body tense as a noise suddenly sounded behind her. She turned to the source to see the immense doors slowly closing. She ignored them. This was something she had to do. She could find a way to open them later.

She felt slightly odd at the presence of Kurtis beside her as she slowly began down the few stairs in front of her. The feeling was, for the lack of a better word, different. She had never been in such a place with a partner, especially one that actually knew what they was doing. _"I just hope that he can keep up."_

She continued forward her _partner_ following behind her. She cautiously placed her foot upon the main floor, not knowing what to expect, wondering if Kurtis's ancestors would've rigged the place with pitfalls and snares.

She scanned the room before turning back to him, thinking that she would rather know for sure. "Do you think there'll be traps?"

A sudden noise, louder than a gunshot, sounded behind her. Kurtis turned in time to see a long blade fall from the ceiling and quickly swipe toward them. He jumped and shoved Lara to the ground, landing on top of her as the iron death trap passed above them.

"Yeah," He said in a sarcastic and frightened tone. "I think there'll be traps."

Kurtis began to get up just as another "shot" sounded. Lara jerked him back on top of her less than a second before another blade would've sliced his head in half.

They were so close, his face was almost touching hers. Kurtis stared at her for a long time. He felt the urge to kiss her right there, and get it over with. He wanted to. He had to if his _job _was gonna work out. He started toward her-

"If we're ever going to find this thing, you're gonna have to get off of me." Lara's voice suddenly sounded, interrupting his advance.

Kurtis shook his head in agreement but didn't move, his thoughts to puzzled to focus on anything other than a kiss.

"Than do it!" Lara yelled as Kurtis's eyes gently fixed upon her lips. He'd made her uncomfortable with his sudden quietness. She wanted out of the situation as quickly as possible.

"Right." he told himself as he crawled off of her and stood up, making sure that the blade traps had finished.

Assured as they were going to be, they started down the small hallway at the end of the cavern, cautiously pacing their steps. Lara lit a flare as the torches were passed by, and darkness consumed them once again. Steadily moving through the darkened path, they eventually reached what seemed to be a dead end, but Lara then realized it was a door, and quickly kicked it open, extending their path.

They timidly stepped into the room beyond.

Lara and Kurtis fearfully shielded their faces as fire suddenly consumed the walls around them and lit torches on every wall, illuminating the room just as the previous. Wearily, they continued forward.

Lara's jaw instantly dropped as her eyes met the space before her. The room was a huge hall with a gigantic metal door at the opposite side. At least twenty five normal doors lined both side walls, each with some mythical symbol drawn on them. They were built across from one another forming opposite rows, with at least fifty total doors throughout the room.

The ceiling was carved into an arch, and was painted with colorful figures of nobility and heroism which stood out against the room's iron and stone walls.

The entire structure glowed yellow as the torches fell between each doorway.

She walked forward and studied the extravagant room further. Their were slight creases and cracks on the walls and ceiling, perfect for traps.

Her eyes met the floor and she was astounded. The entire path was lined with small squares, adorned with symbols and lettering. They continued the entire way to the large door.

"_This is easy",_ she thought to herself. She'd seen this puzzle lots of times before. "What do these symbols mean?" she asked Kurtis, whose attention was somewhere else. He was glancing over each of the doors as if reading. "What is it?" she asked. He looked up, but didn't answer. He walked up to her, looking at the floor.

"I know these symbols" he sternly spoke.

Lara rolled her eyes.

"They're ancient Lux Veritatis icons. Like a religious representation of something" he told her. "Each symbol stands for a holy relic."

"So how does this work?", she asked "How do we get the door open?"

"I'm guessing," he started with sarcasm, surprised she had to ask, "we have to step on the right symbols to get to the other side in one piece."

"Yes," Lara returned with a fake smile, "but which ones?"

"Good Question." he simply answered.

"Wait," Lara eyed him, a thought occurring in her mind, "Your telekinetic. Why can't you just fly us over the thing?"

"Even _if_ I got us to the other side," he replied "that door is huge, and heavy as hell. Even I couldn't break through it. The floor's not just a trap, it's a key. We step on the right spots, the door opens."

Lara felt dumb for asking the question and quickly covered herself "Than what do you suggest we do?"

"I'm thinking." he answered, slightly annoyed, and started eyeing the room surrounding them. "Each door has one symbol. I'm guessing that that's the order we have to use on the floor, but I don't know were to start."

"Well it's obvious where you have to start." Lara pointed to the first door in the first row. It held the symbol of a snake laced around a sheath. "They're the same symbols, so start with the first."

Kurtis watched as she studied the squares on the floor, searching for something. She found a panel imprinted with the identical snake symbol that the door held. "It's there." she spoke, pointing to it.

"That's great." Kurtis sarcastically stated. "But there are to many doors."

"So." Lara returned.

"This puzzle is straightforward. We walk on each row once, with no backtracking." he explained his argument. "There are only about twenty-some rows of squares, and at least fifty doors."

"And how do you know that there won't be backtracking." Lara curiously asked.

"Because the Lux Veritatis were all about symbolism, and this is the same." he stated. "I can't go back, so this trap won't lead me back."

Lara looked at him with fake encouragement. "Then why are there more doors?"

"I don't know." he answered with frustration, becoming impatient. "There's something more to this." Kurtis stopped and starred at the platform below him, waiting for his feet to meet it's surface. He sighed. "But I don't have all day."

Lara was surprised as Kurtis suddenly began forward, his feet planting firmly against the stone panel she had recommended. She stood cautiously, watching the floor below him as he stood, waiting with fear just as she was. She was ready to grab him, ready for a trap of any kind to set itself loose.

Kurtis felt the sweat rolling down his forehead, and felt the nervousness of uncertain death in his stomach. He starred forward, waiting-

-and suddenly sensed Lara's hands around his collar, pulling him back forcefully. As his body fell away, he saw a metal spike quickly shoot out from under him, devouring the snake carving and nearly piercing through his leg.

He cursed out of surprise.

"Apparently there_ is_ something more to this." Lara stated, as Kurtis starred at the floor that had nearly disabled him.

Kurtis then realized what had happened as the large blade quickly disappeared back into the floor. He turned to thank Lara, but she was already in deep thought of what to try on the floor next. Kurtis was sick of having to do all this shit. He let out his voice in a more impatient and harsh tone. "Like I said, it doesn't make any sense, I-"

"Trust me," Lara cut him off. "I have solved much more complicated puzzles than this in my life."

"Really?" Kurtis sarcastically stated, slightly offended. "Well good luck." He watched as Lara walked around the accessible part of the room and studied it further. It seemed as though she were actually enjoying herself, and the sight slightly calmed Kurtis's temper.

"Look at the room." Lara spoke, faced away from Kurtis, starring at the space ahead. "What do you notice about it?"

"Nothing special." he replied. "Torches, spikes, a big fuckin door that won't open-"

"I don't mean the things _in _the room, but the actual room itself." She rolled her eyes.

"I don't know." he unenthusiastically began. "It's arched, there are cracks in the walls between the torches." he stopped. "What else is there to notice other than the opposite doors and torches?" Kurtis stopped as Lara turned to him, a huge smile covering her face.

"That's it" she simply stated.

"What?"

"An arch, identical crevices and opposite placements," she paused. "It's symmetrical."

"And that helps us how?"

"Don't you get it?" Lara asked. "There are _two_ walls with identical doors. The doors have _different _symbols."

"Yeah?" Kurtis questioned, still confused.

"Well look at the statues and torches," she explained. "They are all aligned with one another." Lara looked to Kurtis who still held an expression of not understanding. "You are so simple minded." she told him with a shake of her head. "We have to do it together."

Kurtis was silent.

"Watch." Lara instructed, finally giving up on words. She walked back to the now destroyed platform that he had stepped on before. "When I tell you, step back onto it."

"No!" Kurtis sternly refused. "That thing nearly castrated me a minute ago."

Lara impatiently stared at him "Well it's not like you'll be needing that part of yourself anyway."

"Listen." Kurtis began, aggravated. "I don't care abou-"

"Just shutup and do it!" Lara yelled at him.

Kurtis was silent as he stared in her eyes, his nostrils flared with fear and slight anger. Her features didn't move from their eager grimace as she arched her brows with impatience. Her eyes were commanding, and Kurtis knew that she had won this argument.

He shook his head and exhaled loudly as he backed away from her and redirected his body in front of the shattered floor tile he had previously stepped on.

He watched Lara as she walked to the opposite side of the room. She stared at the door that stood closest to her, opposite the one with the snake, and examined the symbol that appeared upon its surface. It looked like an inverted R, with slight accents of the Byzantine Era; natural for this place.

She quickly made her way back to Kurtis, a smile upon her face.

Kurtis stared with disbelief at the curvature of her lips. This women was either insane, or the most amazing creature on the face of the planet.

Lara examined the floor, searching for the identical _R _marking to appear below her. She found it; just as she had thought, the exact number of tiles away from the center as the one Kurtis had used. Perfectly symmetrical.

Her eyes moved to her companion's. She could sense an uneasiness within him, the uneasiness she had come to expect, and love.

"Are you ready?" She asked in almost a teasing voice, playing with his mind and building up his fears.

Kurtis shook his head and was forced to laugh at the vision of Lara. Her happiness overwhelming his mind, and building his caring for her.

"On 3 then." Lara stated she closed her eyes and breathed. "1...2...3!"

Her feet graced the tile below her as she exhaled and opened her eyes, prepared for her surroundings to conform into some ancient instrument of death.

Nothing happened. A point proven by the loud sigh of relief that poured from Kurtis's lungs.

She looked to him, a smile upon his face where only fear had once been seen. She returned the carefree expression and turned back toward the doors that lined her side of the room. She searched for the second symbol and instructed Kurtis to do the same.

His revealed an injured falcon, while hers held the remnants of a possessed-looking skull.

They searched for the markings upon the floor, and found them each to be one step up, and then one step out, again, exactly symmetrical.

Slight fear entered the companions' hearts again as they stepped toward their new placements. The action offered the same results, nothing happened.

This was definitely the key; they were supposed to do it together.

The process continued for several minutes as Lara and Kurtis searched for the next symbols within the pattern of doors, and then stepped upon the corresponding tiles as they found them.

They met the halfway point of this overly simple puzzle as Kurtis suddenly stopped. He turned to Lara as his mind realized the unthinkable.

"Lara," he stated, gaining her attention. "How did they know there'd be two of us?"

She stared at him, ignoring her task to find the next symbol. She shook her head with confusion and awe. "I don't know."

Lara felt her body suddenly jump as a loud noise sounded upon the ceiling above her. She stared upward as it started growing louder, warning them before hand of its owner's presence.

"What was that?" Kurtis asked, staring at the ceiling.

The noise sounded artificial to Lara. Not something a living thing would produce, but a machine of some kind, a trap of some kind. "We shouldn't be stalling." She stated, never taking her eyes from the ceiling. "It was probably rigged to go off if the pattern of tiles was stopped."

"_What_ was rigged to go off?" Kurtis asked with fear and confusion.

Lara's eyes moved from their fixation with the room's upper level to meet Kurtis's. She stared at him, not knowing the answer to his fearful question.


	12. Main Shaft

Chapter 12

Lara's heart stopped as a different noise sounded beside her, she turned to see the sharpened pendulum flying toward her head. Her lungs let out a shout of fear as she lowered her body, and a shout of warning as her thoughts waned to Kurtis.

She quickly turned around as the blade passed over her form, expecting to see it rip through Kurtis's unknowing body. Her eyes were met by something else.

Kurtis was there, but he wasn't dead upon the ground, he was shouting to her, telling her to move. She watched as he rolled forward and flattened himself to the floor, then she screamed. An identical pendulum had fallen from the other side of the room, much lower than the first. She stared as it passed over Kurtis, and rushed toward her. Her mind was paralyzed from fear but her body moved from instinct. She felt the coldness of wind behind her back as she rolled forward, the blade splitting the air behind her head, slicing away slight fragments of her hair.

"We have to get out of here!" Kurtis screamed to her as he stared at the walls, waiting for another blade to emerge.

"No!" Lara screamed as her mind returned. "We have to finish the sequence. That door is the only way out. If we don't complete it we'll be trapped."

"How the fuc-" Kurtis slightly jumped away as a spike shot though the tile beside the one he was standing on.

"We have to!" Lara cried out as she climbed to her feet. "Look for the next symbol, and be quick about it!"

Kurtis desperately searched the doors for the next tile, he didn't know which one he was on. He had forgotten the last symbol when Lara had called out to him.

"It's there." He heard a voice cry out. "The one that's cracked through the center." Lara had known its placement through the symmetrical pattern of the tiles, and had figured its position in comparison to hers. They stepped together as a towering blade suddenly fell from the ceiling, and split the floor where they had stood only seconds before.

They continued forward, rushing to find the correct symbols and step upon their identical tiles before the surrounding traps severed their bodies, though they were unsure if the door would even work after the puzzle had been ruined and the traps had been triggered.

They were almost there, only four tiles to go. Lara found her placement and stepped. Kurtis did the same.

The next symbol came to her and she placed her foot forward. She felt Kurtis's hand grip her elbow and hold her back as a blade swiped passed her chest, slicing the space an inch in front of her. She looked to him with thanks that neither of them had time to make verbal.

They continued forward until only three tiles remained, then two, and then the final. They stepped upon their remaining platforms' surfaces with praying hearts that the door before them would open.

They stood, staring forward as nothing happened. Lara tightly gripped Kurtis's wrist as her heart raced faster with the anticipation of death.

A noise, loud enough to break the unsightly clashing of the metal traps around them, sounded behind their position at the entrance of the room. Lara and Kurtis turned their heads toward the source and gasped. They watched as a three large pendulums were released from the back wall of the immense hallway. They stared at one another with growing fear as the blades started toward them. Lara grabbed his wrist tighter and she looked at him, she felt the urge to tell him something before they died, something that she couldn't grasp or come to grips with. The words left her mind, leaving only insignificant thoughts for her to ponder. They came back.

"Kurtis," she spoke above the noise of their death racing toward them. "I-"

Lara felt her senses jump with surprise as the door beside them lifted with incredible speed to the ceiling above them. It stood open, greeting them in to the safety of the room beyond.

She looked back to Kurtis, wanting to finish her sentence, but the urgency in his eyes made her stop.

Her trance was broken as the door suddenly began to close as fast as it had opened.

"Fuck!" Kurtis screamed as he rushed Lara toward the rapidly closing gateway.

Lara forgot her words as she felt her legs quickly pummeling forward, Kurtis beside her. She leapt with strength and speed as the door continued to drop down, hoping to either lock them within the deadly hallway, or crush them under its heavy weight.

(-)

The words were gone, a mere memory in a confused mind. She opened her eyes, making sure that she was alive, not sliced in half by a pendulum, or crushed into the ground by an iron door.

She felt a movement beside her and slightly tensed. The motion was followed by the groan of a deep voice, and Lara felt Kurtis's shoulder brush against her own. She stared at him as he raised his head from the ground and connecting his eyes with hers. They looked at one another, each breathing hard from fear and exhaustion, sighs echoing loudly throughout the silenced room. Kurtis looked to the door behind them, now tightly sealed with no possible way to open it. He looked back to Lara and they realized what had happened.

The silent stare was broken by the sound of laughter as Lara and Kurtis expressed their relief. They were still alive.

The companions quickly helped one another to a stand, the remnants of happiness still within their throats.

Lara's mind wavered, as she stared at Kurtis, to the words that had nearly left her mouth at the moment of their approaching death. _"Kurtis, I-" _What would they have ended with? Even she was not sure. She looked to him with uneasiness as they ventured a glance at the space around them. She forgot the thoughts as she glared at the room surrounding her.

The giant space was circular and unbelievably large. The roof raised no less than ten storeys above them, and each floor was lined with doors, much like the hallway before this one.

Wooden beams fell between each level for support, which continued completely to the top. The beams where rotten with age, and seemed to crack and break with a mere glance. _"Not like the sturdy metal ones in the Hall of Seasons." _she remembered her venture beneath the Louvre. The entire room slightly reminder her of the main shaft of that temple, but after seeing the state of this place, the Hall of Seasons would've been a welcomed improvement. _"All the Veritatis strongholds must be similarly built." _A small wooden door graced the opposite side of the room, and held a lurid glow from the torches placed simultaneous around the walls.

The door behind them was tightly sealed; there was no going back.

Lara stared to the ceiling with a worried look, her eyes fixated upon the decayed wood. "Please tell me we don't have to go up."

"We don't have to go up," Kurtis repeated her statement, then paused, "yet." he smiled. "That's our way out. I'm guessing the map is somewhere in the lower part of the cavern. That way it'll take us longer to escape."

"Escape?" Lara muttered sarcastically. "Lovely."

They neared the center of the room, as their next _obstacle_ confronted them. Lara's hand neared her holster as the enemy neared her. She stared at the two forms, bone without flesh, an iron sword within their lifeless hands, and a helmet upon each one's head. They were knights of the ancient days, kept alive to protect whatever the hell she and Kurtis were searching for.

Her mind raced with familiarity as they came closer; Lara had been honored with these creature's presence before. _"Another asset from the Louvre fortress."_ Lara remembered the knights vividly, how pathetically slow but deadly they were, not to mention the fact that they _couldn't_ be killed.

Their bodies looked half rotten, with rusted iron shields that seemed to break apart with the creature's simplest movements. She started to rush them, when Kurtis stopped her.

"I don't think they'll attack." he spoke with over confidence as the ancient beings continued toward them. "They know I'm the last Lux Ve-"

His sentence was cut off as one of the knight's swords sliced at his head. He quickly retreated.

"You were saying?" Lara sarcastically asked, smiling.

"Come on." Kurtis directed her forward, running past the decayed knights, aggravation amidst his mind. He headed for the wooden door, hopefully an exit of some kind.

Lara suddenly gave a shout of warning which Kurtis was thankful for. He hadn't noticed the blades towering above, waiting to bisect whoever neared the doorway. He heard the clash of metal behind him and turned. The knights had closed in and were almost on them. He glanced quickly at Lara and she knew his plan.

In unison, the two leaped backwards and pushed themselves flat against the floor. Before the undead creatures could respond, Kurtis lifted his hand and forced the rigged door open. Less than an instant later the blades fell, missing the companions bodies by mere inches, and striking the knights where they stood.

The air filled with rotten bone and century old armor, as the trap completed its deadly design.

Kurtis dared a look to see if the blades had receded. After several minutes it was safe for him and Lara to stand.

Kurtis thanked Lara for her reaction time, and cursed himself for another near mistake. He couldn't risk himself anymore. He wasn't the only person that faced consequences for his actions, everyone did. The fate of every human being was based on his stupidity. Even worse was that his unawareness had almost cost the life of the only person who had agreed to help him, even after he had stolen, touched, aggravated, and endangered her many times before.

He watched her, waiting for the sarcastic comment she'd no doubt put out about how slow-witted he was. It never came.

He was relieved until he realized that the only reason it hadn't was because her attention was somewhere else. He followed her gaze.

The trapped door now stood completely open, a small and eerie stone corridor behind it.

The walls of the newly accessible space seemed to be covered in blood as a red glow caressed the hall's interior.

Lara was halfway through the passage when Kurtis began to follow. The flare she lit gave the claustrophobic room an even eerier feel, the red glow mixing with the green, the odd color brightening as they neared an opening at the end of the tunnel. The light was blinding in the room beyond, but originated from nowhere; no torches or lights of any kind were placed within the room. Lara was fascinated as the studied the new chamber.

The low ceilinged room was circular, with a single podium standing in the center of its walls. An ancient book lay open on the top. Kurtis approached it as Lara threw away her flare, the red illumination making its use pointless.

"Thine's final step does not always lead to an ending." Kurtis translated the Latin scripture upon the book's pages. "For the origins of the chosen can lead us back to salvation, and start the process of discovery and rebirth."

Lara stared at the book, not trusting his translation. She rendered the words herself; they were identical to what Kurtis had read. "You can read Latin?" Lara started, slight surprise and admiration in her eyes.

"We're taught it when we're young." He answered, returning her stare.

Lara smiled as she turned again to the book, she reread the scripture.

"Ok", she was finally ready, the sentence memorized within her mind though it didn't make sense. "And that's supposed to mean what?"

Her body tensed as the solid wall beside her suddenly began to move. It's surface rippled like a stone tossed upon water. It seemed to stretch as if made of flexible material, not the stone that had been used to construct it thousands of years ago. It molded itself away from the center, a small diamond-shaped hole forming, barely large enough for a person to fit through.

Lara's eyes shifted to Kurtis. He held the same expression she did, confusion, wonder, and slight fear. She cautiously neared the newly formed crevice, and slowly peered inside of its darkness. Nothing. Pitch black all around. No sound, other than her rapidly echoing breaths, building out of excitement. She didn't understand.

She lowered her head, hoping for something, a light or movement of any kind. That's when she felt it, a slight weight upon the strands of hair that hung from her forehead, now fallen from their placement within her braid. She smiled.

"There's water in here." she informed Kurtis. She could see nothing within its depths however, and quickly cracked a flare upon the her knee before dropping it into the invisible liquid. She watched as the instrument slowly began to fall, illuminating the tight space and the equally small passage that fell within the water below.

A small shadow formed at the bottom of the incredibly cramped surface where the flare had fallen. She studied it. There was a tunnel down there, virtually invisible. She smiled to herself as she crawled back out, redness absorbing her once again.

"There's a hidden passage under the water." she told Kurtis as she tightened the straps of her backpack "I think I can swim through."

She started to climb back into the hole, when she felt a grip against her arm. She looked back to see Kurtis's hand wrapped firmly around her forearm. His face held a look of dread and sternness.

"Let go."she quietly commanded, confused.

"No" he said without emotion "You don't know where that passage leads to,_ if_ it leads anywhere at all. This is my responsibility, not yours."

"Don't even think of telling me what I can and cannot do!" she harshly spoke as she forced his hand away. "I've been through things a hell of a lot worse than this before, and I highly doubt you'd be able to fit through there anyway. Hence, _I_ have to."

"Fuck the map." he spoke loudly, "It's not worth it."

"_What's not worth it?"_ she thought to herself. She'd never seen him care about anything besides himself before, why was he doing it now. Unless this was just another ploy to pull her in. Kurtis Trent was an idiot, a smart one. That's why he scared her. What was going on inside of his head?

"So you would sacrifice the entire world for one human life?" she asked him, curious to hear his answer.

"No." he spoke coldly "But I wouldn't sacrifice _your_ life to save the entire world."

Lara felt her mouth open slightly out of shock at his words. What was he saying? Was he actually worried about _her_? Or did he just feel guilty for making her do something that _he _was supposed to?

Or, was it something else, something more personal?

Lara looked at him with a sincerity he had never seen before, just as she left his side and quickly dove through the darkened hole on the opposite wall, swimming down into the water-filled passage.


	13. Solo Mission

Chapter 13

It was dark, too dark. Lara lit a flare as she swam farther. The passage was becoming extremely small, forcing her to turn sideways and tuck her shoulders several times to get through. The cramped space continued forward, seeming to go on forever but leading nowhere. She felt the nervousness increase in her stomach, as the possibility of drowning became more evident. She wasn't frightened, however. She lived for that feeling, and it drove her further.

The passage slowly widened ahead, and she was now able to use her arms to navigate, increasing her speed dramatically. She turned upward as a faint yellow glow attracted her attention, a light of some kind within an open chamber, a chamber not suffocated with water. The tunnel's exit was waiting above her, and she quickly directed herself toward it.

The tight passage opened into a huge chamber, half filled with water. She entered it and quickly swam to the surface. A gasp filled her lungs as she broke away from the deadly liquid, air meeting her throat once again, knowing that a minute more of underwater torture would've ended her life.

She studied her new prison, surprisingly move impressive than the previous ones, though it was smaller, other than its height of coarse. The ceiling arched high above her, so high that she could barely make out the paintings that caressed it. All four walls were lined with statues of knights, each below a lit torch which cast eerie shadows throughout the room. Between the statues that lined the wall in front of her, sat an enormous stone throne, the top crumbling with age. All the rooms within this Lux Veritatis tomb seemed strangely familiar, all with the eerie touch of fire and stone, combined together to pay homage to the past, and to destroy the future.

She stared at the giant throne before her, wondering if Sir Augustine had sat there himself. Unlikely. She couldn't imagine the great leader of the Lux Veritatis crowding through a two foot crevice to get to his thrown.

The thought came to her that Kurtis _was_ the leader now, which made her rethink the situation. She wouldn't put it past him, he was so full of himself. A smile parted her lips as she turned to search for the tunnel she had entered through, but more to find her escape route.

She saw her near grave under the huge pool of water, carved into the side wall, easy to reach. She peered into the watery depths below her, blackness. It was impossible to determine the water filled pit's distance without the use of a light of some kind. She decided to save her remaining flare incase something more important demanded its use, like getting back through the claustrophobic tunnel that had led her to this ancient place.

She swam to the left side of the enormous pool, and spotted an extremely small shelf running along three sides of the room, neglecting the one with the underwater passage. She gripped the three foot ledge and lifted herself out of the water.

(-)

Kurtis couldn't believe that Lara had fled into the depths. He hated the way she never listened. He'd never seen someone so independent and hardheaded, which annoyed and lured him at the same time. Why had she done this, put herself at risk for something that was _his_ priority? It wasn't to protect him, he was sure.

Did she crave for the danger, the adventure? Maybe it was the nagging feeling he always experienced when it came to doing the right thing, even though he had strayed from that path many times in the past.

She had been right about the passage however, there was no way he'd ever have fit through it. Why would his ancestors have built it so small? It seemed as though they wanted to keep _everyone _away from his objective, even _him_.

A thought wavered in his mind, he could see it. The Lady Lara Croft swimming through her tight quarters, only to find a dead end. He tried to banish the thought away. What could he do?

Nothing. He'd just have to wait, and pray for the best.

He heard a clanking noise behind him and turned to see what at caused it. He frowned at what he saw. Throughout the corridor stood three knights more powerful than the previous ones he had encountered. In their grasp, each held a flaming sword that burned from no known source. They moved slowly toward him, ready to end his life, the one thing they were _not _supposed to do

He was thankful under his surprise. Maybe now his mind would be somewhere else, other than Lara Croft's demise. He equipped himself with the Boran X that hung by his side, and smiled as he rushed forward to meet the creatures' attacks.

(-)

Lara explored the room's interior, gasping at the wonders it held. The room itself was at least thirty feet wide, and doubled itself in length. The arches that towered above her were lined with golden carvings and decaying paintings, each glowing brightly as the fire below reflected upon their surfaces.

She was cautious around the knight statues as she neared them, knowing how they liked to _revive_ themselves on special occasions, like chopping her head off. She walked around the narrow ledge, the slight water upon it sloshing onto her boots.

She studied each of the ancient figures, their features torn off by the elements of time. They were all built identical and held the same basic properties; each grasped a iron sword in it's left hand and a crucifix in it's right. The figures faces were covered with carved helmets, much like the previous ones _not_ made of stone, but made to kill. She carefully walked onto the next ledge as the water upon it flowed higher, reaching above her ankles.

Lara stared at the statue nearest the thrown. Her instincts were drawing her toward it, telling her that it was part of something important. It came closer as she continued toward it, the water upon her legs becoming deeper.

She placed her hand upon the figure, studying it. It_ was_ different. In it's left hand, identical to the rest, was a sword. In it's right hand however, was a book, rather of a crucifix. She smiled, recalling the Latin written book from the previous room, it had been a symbol of what she was to do next.

She tugged on certain parts of the statue knowing that it held some answer to the riddle she must solve.

She smiled as the book slid slightly down as she pressed her hands against it. She pushed on it harder, but stopped as she heard a sudden noise above her.

Lara unholstered her 9mms and readied herself for whatever may occur. She stared at the ceiling; at the source of the disturbance. She was ready, ready for the Lux Veritatis's defenses.

Lara calmed her senses as a small hole uncovered itself high on the opposite side of the wall, directly below the arched ceiling. The heavy stone that had previously hidden it had moved away.

She was working out a strategy to reach its height as another hole appeared on the wall above her, slightly lower than the first. From its depths, a large stone slate made itself known as it slowly advanced away from the wall behind her, and began toward the opposite, creating a solid bridge to stand on 60 feet in the air.

She could faintly make out a wooden lever inside of the opened passage on the opposite wall. _"That's where I need to be."_

Lara stared at the structure towering above her, wondering, thinking of a way to reach it. She looked to the statues, her first idea to scale the wall. She bit her lip with frustration as she peered upon the flat surface before her. The wall was smooth for a good 50 feet once past the statues, impossible to climb without special equipment.

Her mind raced once again with hopeless attempts. She was confused at why this contraption's creator would've made it impossible to-

Her thoughts ceased as the huge pool of water in front of her began to violently ripple. She aimed her guns, expecting a creature of massive size to break through the wet surface. She stared, her breath stalling with anticipation, her eyes wide.

The object broke out of the water.

Lara watched with surprise as three metal poles emerged from the pool and slowly raised toward the ceiling, releasing the horrid noise of turning gears, and finally attaching themselves to the stone walkway.

She stared at the structures before her, each no wider than the upper part of her leg. The metal rods where streaked with rust and mold; centuries underwater had corrupted their surfaces.

_"This is too easy."_ she thought to herself as she leaped into the water and closed in one the nearest pole. She stared at the metal shaft, wondering the purpose of the other two. There was something more to this than climbing to the top and winning the prize.

She grabbed the pole and readied herself.

A gasp left her lips, and she grasped her arm as knives burst out of the metal's sides and sliced open her flesh. She quickly forced herself back, and checked her new wound. The blade had scraped a half foot long gash across her right forearm; her blood quickly rushed into the water around her. She held the wound tightly with her opposite hand, thankful that the blade hadn't cut deep enough to sever her artery, and cautiously studied the pole before her. There were no creases of any kind on its surface, no spaces whatsoever for hidden blades to surprise an anxious intruder. Nevertheless, they _were_ hidden within the metal perch, and she had fallen for their trickery. _"An illusion of some kind."_

Lara slowly swam to the water's ledge, holding the gash at her arm as she pulled herself out. She searched the room for something, something that would put distance between her and the rigged cylinders. She looked to the knight statues that surrounded her and smiled, despite the burning pain within her arm. She walked to the nearest and retrieved the iron sword from it's stone hand. She held the blade tightly with her unscathed arm as she returned to the begrime water and neared the second pole.

She raised the sword above the water, and cautiously neared its tip toward the next perch, hoping for different results than the first had granted her. She stretched her arm as far as she could, adding to the distance between her and the contraption before her. She braced her senses for pain as the sword continued forward. The iron scathed against the cylinder.

Nothing happened.

Lara felt her muscles relax at the uneventful result of her test. She was confused. Why had the first pole been made with defenses if the others weren't. It couldn't be that simple. _"Luck?" _She confusingly thought. _"Climb the right pole and win?"_ Something was wrong, it couldn't all be a matter of chance.

She stared at the second pole, the one screaming into her face with hidden dangers, hidden death. Something was _definitely _wrong, but what choice did she have?

She slowly gripped her finger around the steel surface, and cautiously began to ascend the metal perch.

(-)

Kurtis had pushed the knights back into the main circular chamber where their two _accomplices_ had recently been destroyed.. Here he had the advantage, and more room to dodge the balls of fire each knight periodically launched at him. He fought using a combination of bullets and fists, but quickly began to give up on himself as every knight he sent to the ground revived itself as though he had never touched it. Kurtis quickly fled to his right as one of the lifeless creatures lunged out toward him. He quickly swooped his foot across the floor and knocked the creature's feet out from under it. He sighed with disbelief as another started toward him. He was running out of ideas, and ammunition. He wished Lara would hurry up, _if_ she was still alive.

"_No."_ he thought to himself, erasing the dreaded thought of Lara.

If she wasn't alive, he might as well let the warriors slit his throat now. Everything was up to _her_. She was the only person strong enough, and _small_ enough to save everyone in time.

A knight suddenly thrust at him. Kurtis responded by kicking the burning sword back, which in turn, devoured the creature in its own flames, along with the bottom of Kurtis's pants.

Angered, he rapidly forced his hands upon the fire at his right foot, smothering the flames, as another ancient knight rushed him from behind. Kurtis lowered his body as the knight's sword sliced over his head. He quickly straightened himself and lifted his gun, emptying a clip into the soldier's back. The creature was down, but Kurtis new it was only temporary.

He needed to get out of here. What if Lara needed his help? He was useless to her in his current situation. Kurtis's frustration grew as another revived warrior rushed toward him.

(-)

Lara was closing in on her objective. She was almost halfway up the pole, and so far no threat had made itself known to her. She continued forward, coming closer to her destination with every pull of her arms.

Lara didn't feel the pain slice across her stomach until she had hit the pool below. She felt blood pore from her waist as water consumed her. She gasped with pain from the liquid's burning touch as her form surfaced once again.

She grabbed her torso, teeth clinched, and felt a gash sliced the entire width across her waist. She painfully forced her fingers into the wound as to feel it's depth. Nothing fatal, that was _if_ she got help before bleeding to death. She cursed the trap that seemed to laugh in her face. She couldn't take much more of this.

Lara retrieved another sword and painfully neared the third and final pole. She tapped the bottom, nothing. Lara wasn't surprised as she gradually swam away. She wasn't going to make assumptions this time, and land another foot long gash across her body.

She backed up further, guessing her distance. She looked at the center of the final pole, and gripped the iron sword in her left hand, her right disabled and occupied, keeping blood inside of her stomach. She lifted the weapon above the water and arched it backward.

She forcefully swung her arm forward, releasing a yell from her lungs as the sword was thrown through the air. The blade connected with the pole near its center, where the blades of the previous one had sliced her apart. Nothing happened.

Lara looked to the upper-most part of the tall cylinder. _"There in the top." _she answered the riddle, she couldn't muster a smile, and didn't want to.

She took her 9mm and aimed upward, knowing that a sword wouldn't reach, and fired. As the bullet hit the cylinder's surface, blades shot from its center and sliced around the peak of the perch, hoping for the blood of a foolish victim. Lara stared at the contraption, its purpose coming into focus within her mind. She had an idea.

Lara returned to the first and tapped it with another vacant sword. As the blades appeared she looked upward. The deadly knives were only released at the bottom of the pole, not the middle or the top. She gently swam to the second, again testing her theory on the center of the pole.

It was the same, except the blades protruded from only the middle. She forced a smile, as she realized what to do.

Lara returned to the third, ready to climb. She reached her hand toward it, but stopped.

She ran her eyes up it's smooth sides, contemplating the possible ends she could meet by scaling its surface. Something told her not to do it, not to risk her neck for whatever it was that she would find atop the stone platform above her, not to risk herself for Kurtis. This was his burden, and_ he _should be the one contemplating a possible death, not her.

She wanted to turn around, turn around and leave the eerie coldness of this place that surrounded her.

She couldn't. Not because of Kurtis, but because of herself. Her mind wouldn't let her leave, not now, not when she was so close to getting it._"Getting what?"_ she thought. Her mind reminding her that she had nothing to do with whatever was hidden within this fortress. _"No. I have to."_ her mind argued. _"Why? Why do it?"_ Lara stared forward, contemplating her own attempts to back away and say 'fuck the world, and Kurtis.' Her eyes shifted upward, waiting for her decision. _"Why do it?"_ she asked herself again.

"Because I _can_." she spoke aloud, her eyes scaling the pole once again. "I can, and _he_ can't. Even though he wants to." her voice lowered. "Even though he _has_ to. I _have_ to."

She felt her hand gripping the surface of the cylinder's base, and pulling her pained body upward.

She stared at the trap as she slowly climbed, waiting for her body to reach the upper third of it's surface, waiting to reach the identical blades that had tortured her body on the previous two. One more hit, and it was over.


	14. Getting Out

Chapter 14

She had made it to the upper part of the third pole, the hidden blades resting above her, waiting for her body to climb another foot, waiting to take off her head. She glanced to her right, toward the second pole. It stood no more than 7 feet away. It was time to put her mind and body to work, it was time to reach the top without being killed.

She stretched her arm toward the second perch as far as she could, closing the gap to 5 feet. She placed her right foot upon the side of the pole she was holding onto, steadying her foothold, and preparing herself to leap.

She closed her eyes as her stomach pulsated with agony. She forced them to open as she gritted her teeth, ready to make the jump.

She pulled herself back, building force before shoving her foot into the pole, and launching herself through the air.

She felt her hands graze the metal of the second cylinder. She clenched her fingers together, creating a grip upon the pole as her body slammed into it. She wrapped her arms around the structure, holding tightly with relief, relief that she hadn't fallen once again. Lara steadied her body as it slightly shook from the impact, and the loss of blood. She clenched her stomach as red streamed down the pole she was wrapped around. She had to hurry.

The platform was directly above her. All she had to do was climb, and everything would be over with. She started for it, lifting her hands and finding her grips, pulling her feet upward and digging them into the rusted metal of the structure she had come to hate.

The placement was coming closer as she inched upward. Her left foot found it's hold and pushed her forward, then the right. The right!

Lara desperately clawed upward as her foot fell from under her, slipping on the blood her own wounds had left upon the pole. Her grip failed and she felt herself sliding down, sliding toward the middle of the pole. The middle! The blades!

Her left hand tried helplessly to find its support, tried desperately to slow her decent; it failed as it too met the vacant blood. Lara felt herself scream as she fell further toward the cylinder's middle, toward her death.

Her loose hand reached out, desperately searching for a way to help her, directing her body toward the first cylinder. Lara shoved her right foot into the pole, forgetting her hold, forcing herself outward immediately. She lunged.

Her face cringed with the thought of upcoming pain as she felt her left foot gently tap against the second pole, activating the blades as she flew through the air.

Lara felt the flesh of her left inner thigh rip apart as her lower body was caught between the slicing blades of the mechanism behind her. She cried in agony as her right arm wrapped around the cold metal of the first pole, and she swung around it to the opposite side, barely keeping her grip.

She felt dizzy and fatigued, steadying herself as not to fall again. She rested her forehead into the rusted metal, and breathed, hating herself for almost fucking up and getting herself killed. She stayed still for a moment, collecting the consciousness and strength that remained inside. She saw the platform. It was right there. No obstacles stood in her way.

She had to do this, do it for the world, for Kurtis. She had to forget about the pain she was in and how tired her body felt. _"It's almost over."_ she told herself. Lara forced herself upward slowly advancing toward the top.

The blood from her newly opened thigh poured down the beam to the water below.

She then felt her hand grip the warmth of stone, no longer the cruel metal that plagued her body, but the platform she had almost died trying to reach. She pulled herself up, gripping her waist and thigh as the pain became unbearable. She wanted to rest. She wanted to stop and close her eyes, even though she knew it meant bleeding out, it meant death.

She stood, gathering her strength, not knowing what to expect when she pulled the lever at the end of the platform she had tried so hard to reach. She walked forward, steadying her steps as she neared the wooden lever.

Her hands graced it's presence. She pulled it down.

A noise sounded below her, and she cautiously looked toward it. She sighed with relief at the vision before her. The poles had receded, and the heavy stone throne had sunk back into the wall.

Lara wanted to smile as she dove into the water, the acidic feeling preventing her from going unconscious. She was thankful, even though it hurt like hell. She quickly swam to the side and pulled herself back onto the small ledge.

She crept to the newly formed passage where the throne had once sat, and slowly entered.

Lara found herself in a small, unspectacular stone room, and wasn't surprised when two knights greeted her. She stared forward as the object she had came for met her eyes. It _was_ almost over.

The ancient map was lying on a raised platform in the center of the room, only inches off of the stone floor.

Lara eyed the monsters, holding their swords upright and waiting for her to enter. Knowing of her enemy's inability to die, she decided to conserve ammo and her remaining energy. Lara quickly sprinted into the room, sliding to the floor to avoid the deadly strikes of the knight's sword, now passing swiftly over her head. She thrust her arm out, feeling the animal skin of the map against her hand. She grabbed the scroll and quickly stuffed the object into her backpack Lara lifted to a stand, spinning herself toward the exit as she rose. She watched the knights with steady eyes, waiting for the moment she could get through their defenses, their decayed bodies now blocking her way out of the tight quarters.

Both knights raised their swords, ready to kill the intruder, ready to kill _her_.

Lara rushed forward. She quickly lifted her left foot, knowing that it was too weak to support her, and connected it with the knight on her left's chest, knocking it to the floor. She quickly lowered her body to a crouch as the remaining knight swept its sword toward her. The blade swiftly passed over her head.

She rapidly rose to her feet and raced out of the small room, the knight's slowness keeping it from another strike.

Something was wrong.

Lara stared at the pool before her, ready to make her escape. Her brows lined downward with confusion as she looked upon the water. Its level had lowered dramatically, so much that Lara could see the outer edges of the tunnel she had entered through on the opposite wall.

She didn't hesitate, but quickly dove into the pool as the water level continued to rapidly drop. She instantly swam toward the passage before her, and was forced to pull herself into the tunnel as the water level fell below it.

Lara started forward, crawling through the now empty tunnel.

Its dryness came as a relief however. _"At least now I don't have to worry about drowning_." She blindly crawled through, the bare rocks tearing her already injured body to pieces.

Darkness was all around her, but she didn't have time for flares. She had to get to Kurtis. The water hadn't left the previous room for nothing. It was the final defensive plan; the entire place would be flooded.

She continued through the passage for what seemed an eternity, gripping the walls and trying to find her way. The tunnel eventually curved sharply upward, and Lara was forced to scale the ridged wall.

There it was! The familiar red light shining through a hole above her. She climbed into the room where her nightmare had started, and quickly ran back up the passage that she and Kurtis had entered through.

She heard gunfire and was temporarily scared before smiling in relief as she saw her companion up ahead.

He looked startled, and quickly jumped backward as a ball of fire rolled past his head. Lara rushed into the room to find three of the undead soldiers threatening the man, flaming swords in their hands.

A knight charged him and Kurtis quickly drew back. He didn't noticed the one behind him, quickly honing in on his position, preparing for its target's fiery end.

Lara angrily unleashed her weapons, directing the barrels toward the gruesome creature. Its body fell apart before her eyes as she pulled the triggers. The rate of fire tearing away the creatures limbs and leaving it defenseless.

Kurtis heard gunshots and quickly spun himself around, only to be greeted by another creature, ready to set him ablaze. He watch with disbelieving eyes as the creature's body was ripped apart, and fell to the floor.

Kurtis turned toward Lara with a smile, which instantly faded as his eyes fixed upon her. He saw her left leg, completely enveloped with blood, blood he prayed wasn't hers.

"Would you mind if we left now!" Lara shouted above the roar of the oncoming flames of another undead knight. Her sarcasm hid her pain.

Kurtis looked at her with the same satire. He lifted his arm. "Just waiting for you."

Lara felt her body suddenly lift from the ground as Kurtis directed his hand toward her, his telepathy moving her toward one of the ancient wooden beams that supported the room's second floor. She held onto it as Kurtis fired shots from his Boran X into the remaining knight, forcing away it's sword and stopping it from unleashing hell in a ball of fire.

Lara watched as he closed his eyes and lowered his hands toward the ground. His body began to rise as his thought transference began once again. A second later, he joined her on the rickety support.

"We've gotta get out of here before those bastards fry us." Kurtis spoke as he gave Lara a nudge to a higher beam, staring at her bleeding stomach and forearm.

Lara spun back toward him, recalling the previous room "No, we have to get out of here before the water comes." She helped him up to her level by dropping her hand off of the side.

"Water?" Kurtis asked with confusion, as he gripped her gloved hand.

One of the many wooden doors on the floor above them burst from its hinges, and unleashed a pressurized wall upon them. The water flew from the doorway with tremendous force, and the companions were almost thrown from the beam support to the floor below.

"Water." Lara said pointing upward. She tried to smile, but the pain that seared through her body wouldn't allow it.

They steadied themselves and continued their ascent, tightening there grips upon the wooden beams, and their grips on one another.

Another door suddenly broke away above them, pouring more water down, and slowing their progress. Kurtis leaned down and grabbed Lara's arm. He hurled her up to the beam he was on, and instantly heard a cruel cracking sound below them. The wood supporting them began to split and bend, as Lara and Kurtis quickly stood to their feet.

The companions jumped in unison to the beam adjacent to the one that had failed.. Lara grabbed hold of Kurtis as he lost his balance, and helped him up to the next floor.

At least three more doors had burst away, and Kurtis saw that the water was only two floors below them now, and rising fast. They had to get out quick, before this chamber would become their tomb.

"The waters coming in to fast. We'll never make it out!" He informed Lara, shouting.

"We can try." she returned, her voice literally screaming to be heard over the rushing sounds of the water.

"I need you to do something" Kurtis spoke loudly. "I'll lift you up. Look for a way out."

The water rushed around their knees, devouring the beam they were hoisted upon.

"And what are you supposed to do?" Lara asked, with un-wanted sincerity. "Drown?"

"I can't lift us both. It'll be easier for you."

Lara noticed him grasping his stomach wound with blood covered hands as he prepared to lift her, the water weakening his bandage.

She didn't want to leave him, but before she could protest her body quickly raised into the air. Her form was forced through two surging waterfalls, until she finally felt her feet plant firmly upon on the room's highest beam, right below the ceiling.

Lara quickly searched the stone surrounding her, looking for an opening or crack that would serve as an escape from their soon to be fate of drowning. She saw nothing. The domed ceiling was solid. She desperately searched once again as closed doors, barely holding the pressure behind them, surrounded her.

"We're trapped!" Lara called down to him "There's no way ou-"

Her words were halted as the ceiling beside her was suddenly became embedded with fissures and violently began to crack apart. Large pieces of stone instantly gave way at as the ceiling began to collapse, and a stream of pressurized water rained down upon her. It devoured the beam where Lara stood, and threw her to the depths. She felt her body falling, waiting for a paralyzing impact with a wooden beam.

Before she hit the extent of her fall, her body suddenly stopped midair.

Kurtis slowly lowered her down to him by dropping his hand, then wrapped his arms around her, as if to guard her from the falling rocks from above, though both knew that his effort would've been useless had one of the giant stones found its way toward them.

Lara felt strange as he held her. She didn't want him to let go.

Kurtis glanced at the newly formed hole at the top of the chamber and stared with realization."That's our way out!" He cried, pointing to the crevice. He smiled "Are you ready for a swim?"

Lara admired that he could still show a smile, even in their current situation. She looked to the ceiling. His plan might actually work, it had to. The water quickly rushed in around them, slowly pushing them to the top of the chamber until they could literally touch the ceiling. They gasped for air at the last second, and their bodies were forced into the newly formed crevice, now rapidly filling with water.

Lara lit her last remaining flare as darkness consumed them, the water dispersing the once lighted torches that graced every hallway. She turned to Kurtis, trying to keep him close as the faint light glared upon there dampened faces.

The ridged corridor that the fissure had created was narrow and jagged. Stones struck out at them like teeth greedily waiting for blood, while others fell from the water enveloped ceiling, hoping to crush them. The path continued forward as Kurtis and Lara hurriedly kicked their feet, both praying that the tunnel would soon find its end, and hopefully that that _end_ wouldn't be filled with water.

The tunnel abruptly shifted downward, Lara and Kurtis's fears of death becoming more evident with every foot they swam deeper.

Lara rushed forward as a wall conformed in the distance. Her fear of a dead-end left as she spotted a wooden surface in the chamber's lower right corner, a door.

Lara hurriedly rushed toward it, her feet pushing readily before her. They connected hard with the door, but nothing happened. She was too weak, something she never imagined she would be in her entire life.

Kurtis quickly forced her aside and propelled his own weight against the door. He pulled Lara through as the passage swung slowly outward on it's hinges.

Kurtis cursed in his mind at what he saw. They had emerged from one of the many symboled doors in the great hall with the letter puzzle, but no oxygen greeted them, just the same deadly abyss of water. Lara and Kurtis forced themselves to continue forward, both using the last remaining air that filled their lungs.

They moved their bodies rapidly throughout the passage, quickly maneuvering between the huge blades that had nearly taken there lives the first time they had seen this room. The giant pendulums and spikes slowly swayed back and forth throughout the water, rendered harmless by the suffocating environment around them.

Lara noticed that Kurtis was slowing down. The bandage around his stomach was soaked and barely hanging on. The water burned like acid on _her _wounds, she couldn't imagine the pain _he_ was feeling. The companions carefully made there way through the remaining traps, and back through the doorway they had used to enter earlier.

They swam through the thin granite room, and eventually reappeared at the gigantic iron doors with Kurtis's tattoo marking their exterior. He quickly lifted his shirt, revealing the black Lux Veritatis brand. The door glowed bright red once again and slowly began to crease opened, the immense pressure of water never faulting the ancient Lux Veritatis sorcery.

Lara could feel her lungs ready to explode, she estimated 15 seconds in her mind, and then it would be over, she would pass out, then drown. She suddenly felt her body being pulled forward, rushed into the empty entrance room by eager water, wanting nothing more than to consume more space and suffocate more lives.

Kurtis quickly swam upward, toward the gaping hole at the mouth of the cavern. His legs kicked fiercely, never faltering until he met the surface, his lungs gasping with joy as air hit his face. He jerked Lara's arm toward him, bringing her head above as well. They both coughed loudly as the air reentered their throats. Breathing was painful, as the strain of desperate lungs had seemed to bruise their chests. Kurtis forced himself upon the water's sandy edge, bending his elbows and pulling himself upward. He turned around, grabbing Lara's arms and helping her out beside him.

Kurtis laid himself upon the wet earth, now soaked from the escaping water of the Lux Veritatis tomb. Lara did the same.

Something was wrong. She hadn't felt so weak in all her life, other than in Egypt. She felt her throat protrude as water ran up her windpipe, no doubt swallowed during their escape. Her legs were numb, the blood washed off by the never-ending _cleansing_, and her joints felt weak, as though she couldn't stand. She winced as she stretched herself out, hoping to rid her body of the pain.

She looked to Kurtis, no longer visible but a blurred image that slowly grew darker. Lara shook her head, trying to stall the dizziness. It didn't work.

She suddenly fell forward as the world went black.

**A/N: Ok, I've worked really hard for the past week editing a bunch, and a lot of you have been talking about a sequel, which I WILL do eventually, but now my time is being consumed by an Advent Rising fanfic I'm trying to write which will take a while. But I'll definitely finish this one soon, then I can start on the sequel.** **Man I wish the new game dealt with AOD, but oh well.**


	15. Differences Aside

Chapter 15

Lara was woken by the sound of her own heart pounding through her head. The dizziness she felt made her sick, and kept her from moving. Upon opening her eyes, the room she saw spun and seemed darker than normal.

She found herself in a motel room, lying on one of the two badly worn beds which sat awkward to the floor. The ceiling above her was stained, and the air conditioner beside her let out a horrid screeching noise every few seconds.

Pushing the pain aside, she slowly lifted herself up and rested her back against the headboard behind her.

Pain seared through her stomach and she looked down. The agony was distracted when she noticed a bandage carefully wrapped around her forearm. As she touched it, she instantly remembered the chamber in Annaba and recalled the blade traps that had sliced her to pieces, and nearly taken her life. Lara then noticed that she was adorned with two more of the wrappings, one wrapped around her left thigh, the other around her torso. The bandage on her upper leg was wrapped so tightly that the flesh below it was slightly tinted blue. Staring at her leg she then realized that her holsters were removed.

A sudden movement drew her attention to the opposite corner of the room, and she stared.

She saw him, the figure who was no doubt responsible for her current condition, living.

He sat turned away from her, studying something on the small table in front of him. The muscle and tone of his bare back caused Lara, against her will, to bite her lower lip. Her eyes strayed lower and she noticed the blood stained bandage poorly wrapped around his waist. The blood looked fresh, and Lara knew that Kurtis was being stupid and didn't care. She couldn't understand him. It was almost like he didn't want to get better.

She forced herself off of the bed, and slowly stood so the dizziness would subside, then walked across the room, and stood behind him. She stared at him in silence before caringly placing her hand upon his bandage.

The chair burst out from under him and Kurtis was on his feet, facing her in an instant. He held his prototype gun at Lara's chest. He stared deeply in her eyes, and Lara, startled, did the same to him. She kept at his eyes, the blue was hypnotizing. The way he stared at her without emotion scared and enticed her.

The moment was instantly lost as Kurtis's eyes began to flickered and he lost his balance. Lara quickly grabbed after his form and steadied him onto the bed. She informed him of the current condition of his wound, and tried to keep him conscious.

She helped Kurtis slowly lye down, and quickly removed the bloodied gauze. His injury seemed to be healing, but all the moisture in the cavern had caused its own damage.

"Thanks by the way," Lara awkwardly began, and then paused "for these." she referred to the bandages placed on her newly received cuts. "It seems you put more effort into fixing _my_ scrapes and bruises than your own."

"Couldn't help myself" Kuris replied with a smile. It faded, replaced by a grimace of pain. "The artery in your leg was nearly cut. You're lucky to be alive."

"Lucky _you_ were around."

An awkward silence fell over the room, as the two stared at one another in thought. Lara quickly began putting a new bandage around Kurtis as the feeling became to much. She stared at his wound, forcing herself not to look in his eyes. She knew that the eyes were-

A yell suddenly burst from Kurtis's mouth and Lara shot back in surprise.

"What's wrong!" She quickly shouted, worried she had hurt him.

Kurtis slowly settled himself, returning to the stare. "Your hands are cold."

Lara quickly exhaled at the words and looked at him with anger and disbelief; Kurtis simply grinned at her, which she couldn't help but return.

Despite his joking protest, Lara continued her task. Though she wouldn't admit it, she was enjoying herself. She found herself purposely touching him more than she needed, and taking a lot more time than necessary.

Kurtis intently watched her, enjoying his current position despite the pain he was in. "_Who_ _wouldn't be?_" he thought, she was practically lying on top of him. She seemed different however, more nervous and less open with her feelings. This was his opportunity. He needed to pull her in, he needed to take advantage of her vulnerability.

Now finished, Lara studied the ancient tattoo on Kurtis's chest, slightly surprised that he hadn't covered it up like before.

"Is it really all that bad," Lara asked as her eyes remained fixated on the marking, "being part of the Lux Veritatis? I mean, think of all you can do. The powers you have, the strengths, it's amazing."

Kurtis looked up at her with a confused and sarcastic face at the words. He slowly sat himself up, and stared at her. "And yet, you want no part of it."

Lara instantly stood up and left his side as the statement was processed. She grabbed her backpack from the floor and frantically searched through it for the map, trying to avoid answering him.

It wasn't there, the map wasn't there. She worriedly searched again, desperately searching for the artifact, praying that she hadn't lost it in-

Her eyes spotted the ancient scroll on the table were Kurtis had sat. She quickly turned back to him with inset eyes.

"You think my pack is public property?" Lara started, furious that he had went through her backpack without permission.

"Wasn't expecting you to wake up so early." He answered, annoyed.

"Well, if you'd have left me be, then-"

"If I'd left you be, you'd be dead!"

Silence fell.

Kurtis quickly stood, and repositioned himself back in front of the map on the table, knowing that Lara couldn't resist learning about the ancient scripture. He laughed in his mind as she got up and began studying it beside him. He knew that her anger had been a distraction, a distraction to keep herself from opening up to him.

Lara studied the map against her will, despite her anger. She saw that the animal skin was worn, but still readable. The map marked five specific locations, but none or them showed any information as to where they may be located in real life. Four of them symbols were marked close to one another, two of them seeming to be directly on top of themselves. One of the location however, stood far away from the rest. _"Must be something important."_

The cardinal directions where indicated, but nothing more. Written Latin marked the upper part of the brown skin.

"What about all this?" she asked, pointing to the map "Have you figured it out yet?"

Kurtis stared at her again, and then back to the map "I thought you wanted no part in that either."

"I don't!" Lara shouted so angrily that Kurtis jumped back. "But if your clumsy ass dies, I'm gonna be in an awful situation. I just want to make sure you know what you're doing before I take off."

"That's just it." he continued in an aggravated voice. "The map leads to the Vial of Kindred Shadows, but I have no idea where to start. Other than the basic directions, there are no signs or symbols of any significance on it anywhere."

"Well what about this?" Lara asked, pointing at the writing at the top of the map.

"That's just the scripture that was in the book in the cavern." he answered. "The one about the 'last does not always mean the end' bullshit"

"Well _that_ has to be of some significance. They wouldn't repeat themselves for nothing." she argued. "What I don't understand, is why all the traps and puzzles? Sure, the Veritatis wanted to protect the Vial, but they're also keeping it from you."

Kurtis smiled. "I guess the person worthy enough to be the last, would be strong and smart enough to get it."

"Apparently not." Lara answered in a sarcastic tone.

Kurtis shook his head. "Every second that goes by I regret meeting you." He spoke with dead cold eyes at her sarcastic words, forgetting all the things he _did_ like about her. He expected Lara to turn away, but she simply smiled and opened her mouth.

"Good." she spoke, returning his coldness. "Let me think. What did the scripture say?"

"Thine's final step does not always lead to an ending." Kurtis answered without having to read. "For the origins of the chosen can lead us back to salvation, and start the process of discovery and rebirth."

"Alright." Lara told herself "_The origins_."

"That's what I don't understand." Kurtis began, cutting Lara's thoughts off. "Our origin was the cavern. That's were Sir Augustine created and taught the first of us. If they wanted me to start there, the place wouldn't have destroyed itself."

"Then they didn't want us to start their." she simply returned, slightly shaking her head.

Kurtis looked at her curiously as his mind focused on her previous words. "Us?"

Lara was embarrassed by her accidental statement, but didn't state another. She ignored his comment. "Maybe by origins, they don't mean the Lux Veritatis."

"But the-" Kurtis was stopped by Lara's hand pressed against his mouth.

"Maybe they meant yours." Lara finished before she could be interrupted again. She took her hand away from Kurtis's mouth.

"That's impossible." he protested. "They couldn't have know who the last would be that long ago."

"Well right know, that's all we-" Lara corrected herself as she sighed with frustration. "That's all _you_ have to go on. So you better be thinking of all the possibilities. Now where were you born?"

"Utah."

"Then that's where _you'll _start" she said, emphasizing you'll . A smile suddenly covered her face. She was positive that she was right about the location.

Kurtis saw her smiling with triumph. "What?" he asked "Pleased with yourself?"

"Well it's more than you've done!" Lara shouted, getting into his face, "So far, I have gotten the map, and I have found out where it starts."

"Great!" he shouted in return, surprised at her annoyance with him. "Now you have no reason to be here!"

"Your right!" Lara shouted with a sarcastic smile. "So I better be leaving know."

Kurtis regretted his uncontrollable temper, as he watched Lara grab her bag and head for the door. She stopped in front of him and smiled, as if to say _fuck you_ then kept walking.

Lara felt great. She had done it, she had helped mankind and hadn't fallen into Kurtis Trent's trap. She triumphantly walked to the door, and reached for the handle.

As she stepped for the sidewalk she felt a hand suddenly grasp her elbow, spinning her around. Lara looked up at Kurtis's eyes, with an angered expression. It disappeared.

His features were completely different know, no longer taken by anger and rage, but replaced with sensitivity and regret, as if their little dispute had never happened. The sight calmed Lara. He was staring at her again with no expression, just like before, like on the train when her mind had been thrown mixed messages of love and sensuality. She felt her muscles tense as he slowly moved closer. Lara new his intentions.

She saw him at the Louvre in her mind. She felt the same presence as she did when she had first encountered him at the French museum. His hand softly ran down her arm, slowly caressing her slightly exposed waist. She shivered as if freezing, and he brought himself closer to her. His head was beside hers, as if he were about to whisper some sensual thought in her ear, but didn't. She could smell the manly presence of aftershave and sweat as she deeply breathed, her mind confused and exhilarated at the same time. His cheek brushed against her own, and she could feel the stubble of his unshaved beard against her skin. She felt nervous; her heart was pounding loudly, so loudly that she herself could almost hear it.

She wondered why she felt this way. She had been in this situation many times before, but this seemed different, _he_ was different. She exhaled loudly as she felt his waist slide across her own, his hands slowly waning down her sides, hoping to meet her hips, and then her thighs.

Kurtis had made up his mind. She new he wanted this from her, and she felt as though she could do nothing about it. Her eyes quickly opened with realization. Maybe he was the reason she felt so strange. Maybe he was controlling her.

"_Why would he do that?"_ she thought, than realized thathe _wouldn't_. It was entirely her own fault she was acting this way. Her eyes closed once again, her mind too anxious to keep them open. Kurtis was right, she _was _scared, not of him, but of herself. Scared that he could be the one, and that this might actual lead to something more.

As if awakening from a dream, Lara suddenly jumped and quickly backed away from him as she loudly sighed. She said nothing as she shook her head, trying not to look at him. She clumsily walked passed him, returning to the room, and nearly tripping over a chair as she grabbed her forehead. She grasped the wall and hugged it to the other side of the room, catching her balance before she hurriedly opened the door to the bathroom and left him alone to ponder her strange feelings.

Kurtis cursed himself and then her. This was the woman. He could feel it. His feeling had recently changed however, he wasn't worried about renewing the Lux Veritatis anymore, but he was worried about her, the way she felt about things, the way she felt about _him_. He cared about the way she joked with sarcasm and the way she looked at every situation with a smile. He cared about _her_. He had to act fast. If she didn't leave tonight, she would leave tomorrow morning. After that, he would never see her again. He wondered if anyone had ever gotten her to open up. He hated her stubbornness. If only she could realize that being alone wouldn't fix her problems. He exhaled with disappointment, and quickly sat down on the small sofa in the corner of the room, thinking.

Lara was angry, angry at Kurtis, angry at herself. She hated him. "_For what?" _she cut herself off. _"Being attractive and completely irresistible?" _She bit her lip, which she did a lot more now the Mr. Trent accompanied her. This action made her angry and she punched the wall. She was tired of herself, trying to be excluded just to prove a point. She was professional. There was no way that her _relationship_ with Kurtis would go any further than intimacy. Why deny herself?

She knew he enjoyed her company in more than a friendly way, but how did she feel? There was no question about physical attraction. Who wouldn't be tempted by a tall, built, rugged man with the most amazing blue eyes she'd ever-

Lara stopped her thoughts. That was fine; he'd broken her physically, but what about mentally? That's what she had to watch out for. Serious relationships, engagements, marriages, were all based on a couple's mental state. Did she have feelings for Kurtis? Feelings for more than his body?

"Absolutely not." she muttered to herself. She tried to remind herself of all the things he did that made her hate him so. The way he treated her like his own personal toy, playing with her emotions and making her feel sorry for him, how he was so selfish and overconfident. Her bestial thoughts continued as she sorted out the man named Kurtis Trent..

She stopped herself. Was she insane? Why would she want to be with someone that disgusted her so, mentally or physically? She shouldn't of had those thoughts for him in the first place.

Lara sighed with anger as she purposely banged her head into the wall. She wasn't fooling herself, or anyone else. She did have feelings for Kurtis Trent. She couldn't keep it in any longer.

Kurtis continued speculating. He couldn't figure this woman out. She clearly felt something for him, or else she wouldn't be helping him. What was she thinking? She was so sensitive and bundled up emotionally, he knew that he would never get inside of her head. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as the door on the opposite side of the room opened.

Lara burst through the nearly broken door and quickly walked up to him, the look of anger in her eyes.

Kurtis flinched back as she approached, worried she was furious about the way he had come onto her again. She stood tall, directly in front of him, with hatred filled emotions. The way she breathed, the way her limbs didn't move, how her teeth were clenched at him, had Kurtis slightly terrified. He slid himself to the edge of the sofa, hoping she would sit down rather than kill him. She didn't take up his offer however, but repositioned herself back directly in front of him. He wondered what she was doing. Was she going to hurt him or not?

Lara shut her eyes and breathed deeply before she leaned down and kissed him.

Kurtis, though shocked by this sudden, unexpected action, didn't complain. He quickly stood, and felt Lara jump up and wrap her legs around his waist. He could feel her against him. The warmth of her skin and the delicateness of her lips was overwhelming. He quickly forced her backwards onto the bed, and found himself lying on top of her.

She continued to kiss him as he lifted her shirt over her head. Lara could feel his body pressed forcefully against hers; the hardness of his muscles and the strength in his arms, holding her down. She ignored the pain in her injured thigh as his hand pressed firmly against it. She locked her fingers in his hair, and around the broadness of his shoulders, as she felt his waist against her hips.

Kurtis shut his eyes and was forced to look away as he felt Lara's knee fray against his leg, slowly rising up its length, teasing his desires. Lara bit her lip and grabbed his chin, as she forcefully brought his lips back upon hers.

Kurtis smiled to himself, and they continued throughout the rest of the night.

**A/N: A waited for chapter I'm sure, but not as graphic as some, but hey I prefer it that way. We don't need to much detail, just enough to know what happened hehe. ;)**


	16. Separate Ways

Chapter 16

His eyes fluttered and opened as the room slowly appeared around him. Kurtis yawned and the images and emotions of the previous night suddenly flashed throughout his mind. He smiled as the thought of Lara appeared. Her long hair and full lips, the softness of her skin and of her legs wrapped around him. He rolled himself across the bed, ready to caress her, but was surprised instead. In front of him he found no beautiful woman, but cold, empty bed sheets and a vacant pillow. He quickly sat up out of surprise, and anxiously searched the room around him.

"_She wouldn't have lef-" _his thoughts were cut off as his eyes spotted her in the corner of the room.

She was faced away from him, half done dressing in front of a mirror on the opposite side of the room. He intently watched her pull the small black shirt, which he had come to love, over her head and down around her waist. He watched her next take the leather holsters from a nearby table and quickly strap them to the inside of her thighs. She slid on her black fingerless gloves and equipped her small backpack over her shoulders, slightly wiggling them as she did so. As she went to put her dark sunglasses on, Kurtis began.

"So," he loudly said. Lara shot up and quickly spun around, startled. "I guess you're a bed raider too."

Her mouth curved into a large, crooked grin at the words. "Yeah, I guess so."

"You are so beautiful when you smile." Kurtis told her, then wished he hadn't.

Lara tucked her head down as if embarrassed. Her plan to get out of the place before Mr. Trent woke up had failed. She figured it would be easier to leave without having to see or speak to him again.

Kurtis broke the awkwardness. "Where you headed?"

"Home." Lara quickly answered, "Naturally."

"For what?" he asked, desperate for her to stay.

"I don't know," she began, her mind searching for an excuse. "To start on my book."

A smile covered Kurtis's face. "Hmm" he muttered "Is _this_ going to be in it?"

Lara returned a smile and walked up to him. "I don't know." she playfully answered. "Do you think it should be?"

"Well," he began, with an amused look "It's been the most exciting part of my trip. Hasn't it been yours?"

Lara leaned forward and met him face to face. She stared directly into his deep, never-ending eyes.

"I don't know," she answered with a smirk, "Fighting those wraiths was pretty exciting. I'll have to compare the two again sometime."

Kurtis smiled as Lara leaned in further to kiss him, but was disappointed as she teasingly backed away.

"Maybe later." Lara spoke, grinning. She then began to back away from him, and headed toward the main door. She opened it.

"If you don't mind," she started again, rummaging through her luggage bag. "I think I'll take your bike."

Kurtis was surprised when she threw a wad of cash at him. He instinctively caught it.

"That," she continued, referring to the money she had given him "should get you something a little nicer."

Kurtis simply nodded and he knew that she really was leaving. Silence fell over them.

The stare was agonizing, full of unsureness and lost expectations. Those expectations of the future, and of the times they would never spend together, never spend because one of them was afraid.

Lara looked lovingly at him and smiled right before she stepped outside, and walked out of his life forever.

Kurtis banged his head into his pillow. He thought that after all that had happened between the two of them, that Lara would have stayed. He hated how stubborn she was.

Kurtis suddenly sat up. He couldn't just let her leave, not a woman like her. She was perfect for him, everything about her was perfect. He jumped out of bed, slipped his pants on, and quickly ran outside.

Miss. Croft had mounted his bike and turned the throttle, when Kurtis raised his hand.

Lara didn't understand. The bike was cranked, and it had plenty of gas. Why wouldn't it move? _"Unless the throttle is broken."_ she thought. _"Wouldn't be surprised." _

She tossed her leg back over the side, and started back for the motel room. She was stunned to see Kurtis standing at the door, hand raised, preventing her from leaving with his mind. She slowly walked back to the sidewalk and looked up into his eyes. She seemed angry and confused.

"You're not leaving," Kurtis started, then paused, desperately searching for love inducing words, "until you kiss me goodbye." He hoped that the action would remind her of them, and that she would actually _want_ to stay.

Lara had a smirk on her face as she pushed herself up to meet him face to face. She slowly moved herself toward him, tilted her head, and playfully kissed him on the cheek.

Kurtis smiled and bit his lip, her playfulness tempting him even more as she started to back away. He instantly grabbed the back of her head, thrust her into his arms, and passionately kissed her for what seemed a lifetime, their lust induced once again. He saw, that when Lara finally backed away, her eyes where sealed tight, and she was deeply breathing. He could tell she was thinking, thinking about him, thinking about her decision to leave.

To her, and his surprise, she didn't yell, or try to hurt him in any way for his action. She simply smiled, bigger than ever before, and again bit her lower lip.

"Just so you know," he told her, "I'll be here for a while." He hoped that if she still left that maybe she would change her mind down the road.

She didn't say anything, and Kurtis blew in disappointment as Lara turned away from him and continued back toward the bike.

He gave up on sincerity and decided to let his emotions out.

"I thought," he called out to her, "that after last night, you might've changed your mind, and decided to stay."

Lara was silent.

"No?" Kurtis answered himself.

She put her head down as to avoid him. Kurtis nodded his head and looked at her with a fake smile.

"Just wanted to give me a little taste of what I'd be missing first, huh?" He spoke with hate and sarcasm.

At this, Lara became angry. "This is exactly why I wanted to leave before you got up!"

"Why?" he spoke with humored seriousness. "Were you afraid that if you saw me again before you left that you wouldn't be able to say goodbye!"

"No," she loudly stated. She stared at his eyes one last time "because I'm saying it now!"

She started to back away.

"Goodbye Kurtis Trent" she told him, with triumph and hidden disappointment in her words as she smiled. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

She climbed back on the bike, and kicked up the stand.

"I thought I had!" he called out to her as she drove out of the motel parking lot and onto the main highway.

Kurtis kicked the metal column that lay beside the motel door, leaving a huge dent in its side. He cursed aloud, and quickly slammed the door behind him as he returned inside.


	17. Deadly Regrets

Chapter 17

"_No_." Lara protested with her mind as she focused her eyes on the road ahead. She had done the right thing. For once, saving the world wasn't her priority. Kurtis was meant to save everyone, _without_ her interference. Her staying could have ruined his "elders" plan of defiance. She shook her head in agreement with herself. Leaving was the best for everyone, literally.

Kurtis's words suddenly sounded throughout her mind. "Just wanted to give me a little taste first." They spat at her innocence. _"That was wrong." _she thought. She shouldn't have slept with him. It is cruel to tease the male mind, especially its physical aspects.

A sudden vision entered her mind at the thought of their intimacy, and Lara quickly slowed the bike. She saw him. His toned body hovering over her, pressing against her form and feeding her with pleasure. His thin lips against her own with moistened lust and the warm feeling of being loved. His slightly lengthened hair shaping his face as he spoke her name, slightly hiding his hypnotizing eyes.

"_The eyes." _she thought as she gasped from distant chills. She cursed them. _"If it wasn't for those damn eyes, this would be a lot easier." _

Her mind forced her to take in the night before, her and Kurtis together as one, the way he made her feel and the emotions she had experienced. She had thoroughly enjoyed it, so much that she would welcome the opportunity to be with him again. _"That is so selfish Lara."_ She regretted the thought.

Lara again bit her lip with lust, which angered her. She then purposely forced her teeth down into the lower brim of her mouth. She moaned with pain as blood trickled upon her tongue. Maybe now she would think twice before the newly formed habit kicked in.

Lara cursed herself for even considering going back and she sped forward once again. She rode several minutes without Kurtis in her mind, but was forced to actually stop when she realized the truth; she did have feelings for him deeper than in body.

The way he tried to protect her, and how he smiled at every bad situation had comforted her. She lifted her arm and stared at the bandage he had placed there. Her fingers met it, her thoughts on how he had cared for her.

She shut her eyes as a tear ran down her cheek. She had been wrong. Kurtis wasn't selfish. In fact, he was probably the most unselfish person she had ever met. He was giving up every aspect of his life for the rest of the world. He was forcing himself to settle down and have a child, which would change his entire life. Lara could tell that he wanted this even less than she did, and couldn't imagine what he must be going through.

Other than that, he was giving up _her_. She knew that he liked her in even more than an intimate way, and she knew how hard it was to sacrifice a relationship for the well being of all the other assholes on the planet.

The thought made Lara wonder about herself. If Kurtis wasn't forcing her to have a child, would she have stayed? Lara stared at the ground. "Yes." she told herself.

Lara wiped a strayed tear from her face. She re-cranked the bike and shook her head. There was nothing she could do. Kurtis Trent's destiny demanded a child, something she would not allow herself to succumb to, no matter how much she wanted to, no matter how much she wanted _him_. She stared into the distance, demanding her conscience to dissipate. She quickly sped forward, heading toward the airport in Tunis.

(-)

A cold grimace shaped the crooked smile upon the demon's face as she stared forward and bit her lip with the anxiousness of her surroundings.

She fought back laughter as she peered upon the extravagant house that stood before her. It's tall gates and flat roof reminded her of a castle, a red one of coarse, painted crimson from the bricks used to construct it.

It hadn't taken her long to scale the outer walls of Croft Manor, her inhuman abilities had aided in the climb.

She now lay still, crouched behind a tall bush staring at the home's entrance, waiting for the perfect opportunity to set her demons upon its doorstep.

It was payback, payback to Lara Croft for the bullet holes in her chest and the slight scar upon her left cheek that another 9mm shell had caused.

Other than that, it was to Kurtis. She had seen the way he looked at Lara. She couldn't allow such things. Kurtis was _hers_ to do with as she pleased, whether that be killing him or simply fucking with his mind, something she was doing now. Lara Croft would never trust him after _this_, not after what she was about to do.

A silence fell upon the wicked thoughts as a shadow passed by the manor's entrance window. It was time.

Mariana didn't move as the age-old butler carefully opened the wooden doors of the large house. He moved slowly through the doorway, almost as slow as the garbage in his hand decayed.

Mariana smiled as he came closer, knowing that his mind was ignorant of what was to come. She raised her arm at that moment, and a group of demonic shadows flew from behind the high wall to meet her.

The wraiths instinctively looked over the estate's grounds, searching for Mariana's commands. Their crimson eyes showed brightly against the darkened sky as they spotted their orders, the old man looking fearfully toward the sky.

He had dropped the garbage bag and was quickly making his way back toward the gaping doors of the manor, shaking with fear. The wraiths seemed to smile as they watched him, moving so slowly, yet so hastily within the man's ancient mind.

Mariana retrieved a lighter from a small pocket at her side, and quickly lit a cigarette as the wraiths rushed toward their prey.

She smiled as shouts of horror and pain rose from the yard of the prestigious house that stood before her.

"_The house."_ her mind evilly informed her. Her eyes turned back toward the lighter that lye in her opened hand. They strayed once again toward the mansion. She smiled as her features formed into a bright image, consumed by the flaming lighter she held before her face. She stared at the flame as she stood.

Her motions started forward, and she casually walked toward Croft Manor, the lighter held firmly in her hand as the screams began to die out.

(-)

Lara had gone seven straight hours with Kurtis Trent in her mind, but the closer she neared Surrey the more her thoughts waned home. She retrieved her car from the nearby train station's reserved parking, abandoned the nearly destroyed bike in an alleyway, and anxiously sped for her place of comfort.

She watched as the daylight began to fade, and darkness overtook the sky. She smiled at the thought of being within minutes of her Manor, but the expression quickly faded as a sudden odor filled the air. She curiously watched as the road became hazy and the odor grew stronger.

Something was wrong. Her path smelt of smoke and ash and she quickly brought the car to it's maximum speed. A rock formed in her stomach as she saw clouds of endless smoke rising up ahead.

She wasn't far now. Her home lay less that two miles away, yet her thoughts were no longer of anxiousness, but of fear. As she continued, the nervousness intensified. Not knowing what was going on made her angry and afraid.

She sighed with anxiety as she saw Kurtis's wrecked bike up ahead, lying by the trees of her exterior driveway. The tall gates then formed around the corner. She felt cold sweat fall from her forehead as she passed through the mansions gates.

Lara suddenly slammed on the brakes. She felt her neck pop as the car came to a sudden halt. She quickly recovered herself and stared forward. What she saw caused Lara to leave the car, and fall to her knees. She cried out in anger and sadness at what lye before her. She fell forward as her fists pounded into the ground, and she wept.

A loud noise erupted and Lara stared. In front of her, three wraiths hauntingly waited for her; all in there demonic forms. Lara slowly stood with enraged eyes as they growled.

Beyond them stood Croft Manor, burning to the ground, and laying before her, what remained of her once best friend. Lara held up her weapon and clenched her teeth before eagerly rushing forward to attack the creatures who had destroyed her life.

**A/N: Sniff Sniff, I loved that house. :( Oh yeah, Winston too... **


	18. Wrongful Revenge

Chapter 18

Kurtis felt his mind slowly wane into reality as he was woken by a strong beating at the door. The sudden disturbance made him feel nervous, unsure of the cause behind it. He suddenly regretted his decision to stay at the hotel, fearful of whoever had found him, but the extra rest made him feel stronger. He slowly climbed out of the bed, careful not to make a sound. He grabbed his Boran X off of the table beside him and started for the door.

The knocking came again as he proceeded slowly toward it. He raised the gun and carefully unhooked the chain lock above him, then the deadbolt. The door slowly creaked open, and he steadied his sidearm.

A dark figure appeared on the opposite side, its features hidden, consumed by the shadows of night.

"You son of a bitch."a familiar voice suddenly called out. Lara started to come toward him.

"Don't!" Kurtis shouted realizing who the figure was. "Stay back." He steadied the gun to her forehead. _"What is she doing here?" _His mind questioned. He knew Lara would never have gone back on her decision, even though he had hoped for it before. It couldn't have been her.

"What the hell are you doing?" she angrily asked. She swung at the gun and Kurtis quickly backed away.

He stared at her, confused. "I have to be sure." he spoke, almost to himself.

"What?" Lara loudly asked with sarcasm.. "You think I'm a wraith? That I've been possessed?" her features conformed with hatred as she looked on with anger. "Right now I'd welcome it!"

"If you are Lara, then-"

"Oh, you want proof?" Lara angrily and sarcastically cut in. "I fucked you the other night, is that proof enough!"

Kurtis sighed as he noticed her condition. Her hair was down, flowing to her waist, soaking wet from the rain that pelted down outside. Her shirt was torn, and blood flowed heavily from her forehead. The bandages he had secured upon her two days before where completely gone, bloody scars had taken their place. He wondered what had happened to her, if it was her.

She seemed angered, more than usual if that was possible. The expression she held was unlike anything he had ever seen before, so full of rage, and yet so vulnerable that she seemed on the verge of crying.

Kurtis wasn't sure what to do. Could he trust her? The world depended on his decision. _"What if she has been taken?" _he thought. _"Then what would be the point of going on."_ He pondered himself as Lara looked on with the twisted face.

Kurtis stared at her with fear, and on a whim he flipped the gun away from her and handed it forward. It was a test, a maybe deadly one, but how else would he ever know? It was easy: if Lara killed him, he had made a poor decision.

He watched with anxiety and fear as Lara quickly stripped the gun from his grasp, and in an instant it was turned back around on him. She gritted her teeth together as she pressed the barrel against his chest.

Kurtis grinned as he stared at her, then closed his eyes, knowing he had made the wrong decision; he had trusted her. It wasn't Lara, but a wraith, a vile creature sent to destroy him. It was his fault, his fault that Lara had been taken, been condemned for simply helping him. He stood still with regret, waiting for the prototype round to blow through his rib cage, waiting for his destiny to be completed.

A strange quiet fell over the room, filling him with fear and anxiety, which was instantly broken as Kurtis felt his Boran X suddenly move from his chest and bash against his skull.

Pain instantly seared through his head, and the forceful blow knocked him back. He heard Lara shout, "It's all your fault!" as he opened his eyes. He jumped with fear as he saw her charge toward him, and then felt his back hit hard against the floor.

"If only I wasn't so stupid for trusting you." Lara yelled, her voice filled with pain and anguish.

Kurtis felt her sitting on his stomach as her hands pummeled into his chest. He could sense Lara grasping his collar, and watched without understanding as she flung his gun back then quickly brought it down, striking it against the side of his face. Kurtis could feel the muscle and bone bruise as the weapon was quickly raised once again, preparing for another swipe across his cheek. He wondered why the wraith was doing this, why was it wasting it's time hurting him, and giving him the chance to get away? It should have killed him by now.

He had to take advantage of the situation, had to take advantage of the wraith's stupidity.

Kurtis quickly kicked up his leg and lifted his waist, which sent Lara flying forward. She landed on her back, opposite of him. Kurtis felt her head behind his own as he quickly flipped himself backwards and landed, sitting on her waist as she had been on him only seconds before. He jerked the Boran X from her hand, and quickly pointed it at the demon's head.

Kurtis stopped. He felt his jaw slightly lower as he saw her face, plagued by tears. She shuddered as he slowly lowered the gun. He leant down, staring at her with confusion. She couldn't have been a wraith; he would have been dead if she had been possessed, and why the hell was she crying? But if it was Lara, she definitely wasn't herself. Kurtis knew that she would never have let him get the best of her. Lara would've kicked his ass by know. Something was wrong.

"Stop!" he shouted while she struggled against him. He was forced to grab her wrist, and slammed them into the floor. "Now," he began, as if to wake her up from some dream that infested her mind. "what's going on!"

Lara suddenly became still, as she looked at him with a fake and painful smile. "You want to know what's going on?" she sarcastically asked. She stared at him with anger. "You ruined my life! Am I such an idiot that I trusted you, that I went, let alone slept with you?"

"What's happened?" Kurtis hurtfully asked with confusion at her words. "I've done nothing to you, and you're here trying to fucking kill me."

"You have done everything." she answered with a slightly more sullen tone that delivered the same presence of anger. "I seek happiness in the one place I treasure and love, only to find it desecrated and taken from me, along with the only person that I could truly call a friend."

"What are you talk-"

"Because of you," Lara cut him off. "my life is ruined."

Kurtis looked at her with pity and confusion.

"They killed him." she outwardly and emotionally stated. "And burnt my home and existence to the ground. Everything I have gained, everything I have earned, is gone because of you. You dragged me into this stupid escapade, you put Winston's life in danger, and _you_ got him killed!" she stopped, her voice lowering with regret. "You ruined my life."

Kurtis instantly released her wrists as her emotions changed to sadness. He watched as she quickly covered her face with her hands and started to cry. He lifted himself off of her, picked her up, and held her in his arms, bringing her to his chest as he gently sat on the closest bed.

As if not remembering that she was trying to kill him moments before, Lara continued sobbing as Kurtis caressed her.

"It wasn't supposed to happen." she muttered so low that Kurtis could barely hear her. "Not to him. Not like that."

Kurtis stared at her, still confused, but no longer scared.

"It's all _my_ fault." she continued. "Not yours. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have stayed here. I'm so stupid."

He held her in wonder, stroking her hair and forehead, starting to understand. He heard her sigh loudly one last time before her body fell limp, and she drifted into unconsciousness.

(-)

She felt the sense of life once again, as a bitter cold attacked her skin. She clenched her fist with the pain of opening her eyes, which burnt from the soreness of previous tears.

As she reached for her face, she realized that the task was impossible. Lara quickly searched her arms to find them tightly tied down to the frame of the uncomfortable chair in which she sat. She tried her legs, but found they too were restrained.

She wondered what had happened. Unsure of-

She felt her eyes suddenly water once again as thoughts of Winston appeared.

She forced the painful memories away, trying to comprehend her current situation. She remembered going to her house, and coming back for Kurtis, though he wasn't around now. She didn't know about being tied up, and figured that she must have passed out.

She forcefully began moving her limbs, desperately trying to break one free. She could feel the rope burning the flesh around her wrists and ankles, slowly eating away the meat and cutting deeper with each strain.

She instantly stopped her movement as the main door out of the motel room suddenly opened and a man walked in. Seeing that it was Kurtis, Lara ceased her attempts to escape.

He acted different, moving with hesitance, like trying not to upset her. Kurtis slowly walked to her with a look of disappointment in his eyes. He leant down and stared at her for several seconds in silence.

"We think so much alike." Kurtis began as Lara looked on with anger. "You thought I was bad and you tied me up. I think you're bad," he slightly smiled at her. "and look where you are."

"Don't trust me?" Lara asked as she stared at the ground.

"I usually don't make it a custom to trust women that try to kill me." Kurtis answered with sarcasm.

"So that happens a lot?" Lara jokingly asked without a smile. He ignored her statement and gently backed away.

Kurtis was glad to see that she seemed to have calmed down. He looked at her, and the condition she was in. Other than the same status of her torn clothes and messy hair, he saw a large bruise on the left side of her face that had appeared overnight. Red stains soaked small parts of her clothing that had stayed solid until being drenched by the force of oncoming blood.

He watched her as she put her head down, as though trying to say something she didn't want to admit.

Lara closed her eyes and forced the words to come out. "I'm sorry." She spoke loudly, not wishing to have to repeat the words. "I wasn't myself last night."

"Don't be sorry." Kurtis began with seriousness. "It's my fault that-"

"No." Lara sternly cut him off, raising her voice. "I shouldn't have stayed here with you. If I'd been there, I could have done something."

"Yeah," Kurtis started with sarcasm. "You could have died." He stopped as he looked away, his words sinking in. He shook his head, "And I wasn't exactly begging you to get off of me that night."

He paused as he saw her slowly lower her head and could tell that she was on the verge of crying once again. He couldn't take seeing her like this because of him. His emotions turned to anger. "Who did this?" He asked with pity and hate.

"Who do you think?" Lara sarcastically asked. "Our ghostly friends."

Kurtis stopped at the mention of the wraiths. He stared at her with surprise ."In their natural form?"

Lara nodded.

"You don't know how lucky you are." Kurtis told her. He couldn't believe she had confronted the demonic creatures and escaped without being possessed.

A fake grin appeared across Lara's face. "I wouldn't call my current situation _lucky_." She spoke with hatred.

"Why did you come back?" He asked. "Just to kill me? That's what _they_ want."

"I realized that." Lara answered. "So I want to help you, and get rid of those bastards. After they're gone I _can_ kill you."

Kurtis smiled at the words of her last sentence, but stopped as he realized that Lara was serious.

She stared at him, knowing that even though she wanted to kill him, that it had been _her_ choice to leave, and that she had left Winston. She hated herself, and knew that she would forever. The thought of guilt ceased as she heard Kurtis suddenly speak.

"I'm sorry."

"Save it." Lara returned harshly. "What's done is done. Only revenge offers comfort." She instantly looked to Kurtis, realizing what she had said, reminding herself of _his_ revenge. She was forced to smile at him. "Maybe I am like you."

Kurtis returned her expression. "I'll get you loose." He quickly retrieved a knife from his boot and cut the ropes on her legs and arms, even though he still felt as though she would attack him immediately after she was freed.

He was relieved as she simply walked past him, and headed to the sink that stood across the room. He watched her turn the faucet and splash water across her tattered face.

"I can get this room for another night." He offered help. "If you need some more rest."

Lara looked up at him with blank features. "Give me an hour." She grabbed a towel from a nearby rack, and quickly entered into the bathroom.

Kurtis heard the shower cut on, and sat down. He felt selfish for making her help him, and felt even worse at the fact that she now hated him. He shook his head as he closed his eyes with guilt.

Twenty minutes later, Lara emerged from the bathroom already dressed. She grabbed a hairband from her pack, and Kurtis watched her lift the long hair, which reached past her waist, and pull it behind her head.

"Let's go." Lara flatly stated as she walked past Kurtis's form, never turning to speak into his eyes.

Kurtis followed her movement with a stare of confusion. "Might I ask where?" He asked with sarcasm and unsureness.

"Don't you remember?" Lara slightly turned her head back toward him, speaking without expression. "Things haven't changed." She walked out of the cheap room. "We're going to Utah."


	19. Utah

Chapter 19

She watched with regret as the mountains and plains quickly turned to ash, like they had been burnt by the scorching sun. She could feel its heat beaming down upon her fair skin as the wind blew into the convertible Jeep, flowing wildly through her hair. She starred straight as the rented vehicle continued forward, but soon closed her eyes, which lay tired and heavy upon her, though she knew that sleep would be impossible. The reflection from the colorless earth below was blinding, and Lara was forced to search her bag for sunglasses.

Her mind had been on the verge of depression the entire day, but she hid thoughts of Winston with those of Kurtis. She wondered what kind of person could raise a child in such a desolate place. The salt flats seemed abandoned, other than the occasional idiot driving by in some over the top vehicle, just waiting to be killed.

She tried to imagine Kurtis growing up in such a place. She looked to him as he drove forward, her mind regretting the way she had treated him the previous night. She saw his face, nervous and maybe even scared, a bruise upon its side, a mark of her doing. She knew he didn't want to go back to his childhood home. Despite her better judgement, she decided to ask him about it. He explained that his training was much easier in a deserted land such as this. There were no people around to ask questions, or to nose about. He told her that his telepathic training was greatly tested, and that he could easily move things around without raising suspicion.

He went on for several minutes just talking about his childhood, and about his father. He seemed different when he spoke of him. Lara knew that he had to have felt horrible about abandoning his father before he was killed. He must have really loved him, and Lara wondered why Kurtis was doomed to end up where he was now.

Kurtis's voice suddenly halted mid-sentence. Lara looked at him with confusion and saw him staring straight. She peered in the same direction, wondering what had provoked his silence. At least a half a mile away, she spotted a small building, apparently of some significance. Lara was more shocked to see a low mountain side behind it that seemed to rise from nowhere. She couldn't believe that in the middle of all this _nothing_ there was actually a rise. She knew it must have something to do with Kurtis. She directed her eyes toward the desolate building in front of the elevated ground.

"Is that your home?" Lara asked, though she knew the answer.

"It _was_." He replied with his head down, as if unwanted memories had spawned.

Lara's head snapped back as Kurtis slammed his foot against the gas peddle. The old house came nearer and nearer until the Jeep came to a halt not ten feet from it.

"Let's get this shit over with." Lara heard Kurtis mutter. He left the vehicle, and began pacing across the barren lawn toward the decaying house.

Lara quickly kicked herself over the passenger door and landed on the soft earth below. She kneeled and picked up a handful of ashy salt. She curiously let it drop between her fingers.

Kurtis stared at her with amusement. "What is it?" He asked. "I was sure you'd been here before."

"No actually." Lara returned, slightly fretted. "And what makes you think I would want to come to some place like this? There was nothing ever here anyway."

"I was here." He said. "To bad you didn't stop by. But I'm nothing too, so..."

"I didn't mean that." Lara answered, annoyed. "Why do you always have to curve my words." She saw Kurtis smiling, and knew that it was his purposeful intention to make her angry. She rolled her eyes, and quickly stood, wiping the remaining salt from her hands by brushing them across her pants.

She followed Kurtis to the door of his old home, and watched him forcefully kick it open.

Lara stalled her entrance a few seconds, expecting the entire house to fall from the crashing blow. She saw rotten wood line the outer and interior walls. The entire place seemed like a death trap, just waiting to bury them in a grave of molded tile and cracked cement. She cautiously entered.

Lara saw Kurtis anxiously looking around the newly opened fortress, searching for the real reason he was there.

She felt sympathetic toward him for a few seconds while watching him look upon the remains of his childhood. The feeling quickly subsided as she realized that he had noticed her staring at him.

"So," she quickly started. "What are we looking for?"

"I have no idea." Kurtis answered, like he was ready to give up after less than ten minutes of searching.

"Well let's find out." Lara returned, over enthusiastically, hoping to raise his spirits though hers were still low.

She quickly began to walk around the small room in the house, running her fingers over the dust covered furniture she passed, hoping that Kurtis would try harder to find whatever it was they were looking for. A tapestry on the wall caught her attention, and she studied the medieval handiwork with great respect. She searched the rest of the room, but soon decided that nothing of interest was in it. Maybe she would have better luck in a different room.

She saw a door in front of her, and quickly walked toward it. She slowly opened the pathway, and turned to see if Kurtis would stop her.

She continued forward as he returned no response, and curiously peered into the room. She smiled as she saw a small bed in the corner, and knew that it was either Kurtis's room, or one of his unmentioned siblings. She brought herself forward, stepping completely into the room.

Lara quickly looked around, but to her surprise, saw nothing out of the ordinary. It was a normal teenager's room, equipt with everything from a baseball bat, to a family portrait on a dusty shelf. She picked the picture up with curiosity and blew away the age old dirt that blurred it..

She stared at the image as she spotted Kurtis, the same smirk on a younger face. His hair was shorter in the photo, but it's pitch black color remained. He definitely got his looks from his father, same eyes, same structure, same-

She quickly jumped as she saw the grown version of Kurtis beside her.

"Thanks." Lara sarcastically stated at his frightening her.

Kurtis didn't reply as he eyed the room. "I don't like it here." he stated. "Too many bad memories."

"Bad memories?" Lara asked with confusion. "It seems like you had a normal life."

Kurtis picked up the baseball bat, and twirled his wrist, spinning it around several times. "You think my family actually had time for baseball?" he paused, staring at the photo in her hand. "Or family portraits?" At this he knocked the picture from her grasp. The glass shattered on the floor. "No," he stated, faking a smile. "We were too busy running."

As he turned away, Lara picked up the broken frame, and went to place it back on the shelf. As she moved toward the placement, she dropped the photo back to the floor in astonishment of what she saw.

"Kurtis." Lara spoke quietly out of surprise. "I think I know where to look."

Kurtis spun around, and stopped as he saw it.

On the bare wall in front of them, a strange drawing constructed itself from nowhere. It seemed to be painted with black tar, and slowly etched itself along the wall, creating the symbol that was naturally tattooed upon his chest.

The black finally stopped, and Lara looked back to Kurtis with confusion. He held a look of anger that Lara didn't understand.

"So what do we-" Lara halted as Kurtis suddenly leveled his Boran X, rapidly pulling the trigger and tearing the plaster wall apart with bullets. Silence conveyed and she looked back to him with surprise. "Ok." Lara spoke, removing her hands from her head once he had finished.

Kurtis quickly walked to the wall, and tore it away, using the newly made holes. Lara helped, and the wall slowly fell away before their eyes, falling in pieces to the floor.

Kurtis stared forward in silence, his face emotionless. Behind the fallen plaster, upon a small outcropped platform, sat a papered scroll, decaying along with the house as age slowly destroyed it. He was still, his anxiety paralyzing his thoughts. He reached toward the object before him.

Lara was silent as Kurtis gathered the scroll. She stared at him, reading his emotions of fear and anxiousness. "What is it?" she quietly asked as Kurtis unraveled the decaying paper. She watched as his expression changed to confusion.

"It's a drawing." He simply answered, showing her the scroll's surface. "It's the mountainside out back."

Lara stared at the picture. It was nothing special, a flat ground in front of a barren cliff that rose about forty feet, and spanned the entire length of the page. It was the exact image of Kurtis' yard, other than the vision of a dead tree that had rooted upon the top surface of the structure. At the bottom edge of the page, four symbols were drawn. Lara studied them. _"Where have I seen these?"_ her mind asked. The drawings were familiar; a sword embedded in flames, the head of chimera, a family's crest, and a snake laced upon an empty sheath._ "A snake upon a sheath!"_ Lara's mind screamed.

The vision of Kurtis ran back through her mind. His foot upon the lettered floor in the Realm of Valor and the trap almost "castrating him" as he had so elegantly put it. This drawing _was_ of significance.

"Where is this?" Lara suddenly asked, pointing to the tree in the drawing.

Kurtis stared at the picture. "About a mile down from here." He stated, knowing the thoughts in her mind. "I used to play there all the time."

(-)

Lara anxiously left the Jeep once again. She slowly walked to the mountainside, and directed her eyes upward. Shadows streaked across her face as the sun beamed down through dead branches of a lifeless tree that stood forty feet above her. She smiled as she walked closer, her eyes fixated on the cliff-side.

Kurtis was confused as Lara studied the side of the rocky structure before them. She ran her fingers across it's surface, obviously hoping for an indentation of some kind.

Lara stopped as she felt it, the roughness of it was unmistakable, not natural but carved by the hands of a human being. She moved her fingers slightly to the left of the granite wall; she felt another, then another, and then a final depression. Her lips curved as she backed away, the four rough spots morphing into the images drawn on the scroll she held in her hand. The carvings were virtually invisible unless actually _searched_ for.

"May I ask the purpose of your smile?" Kurtis stated with fake elegance, his impatience building.

"Look," Lara returned with slight aggravation, directing Kurtis's eyes to the symbols on the page, and then the carving's upon the mountainside, each smaller than one's fist. "They're the key." she said, pulling him toward the faded images. "There has to be a path or something, somewhere around here."

"Move." Kurtis flatly stated. His anxiousness corrupting his once desirable attitude. Lara handed him the paper, and quickly backed away not wishing to see his _fussy_ side.

Kurtis studied the four symbols drawn upon the paper before tossing it to the ground.

Lara watched with unwanted amazement as he neared the four symbols inscribed in the mountainside. Kurtis raised his hands and placed them upon the middle carvings, leaving the outer two bare. His eyes slowly closed as his palms began to glow, giving off the color red, and becoming brighter with every beat of his heart.

He breathed heavily as he closed his eyes, seeming as though he were in pain, his unique _abilities_ being forced throughout him. His body slightly shook as he continued, and Lara felt herself slowly backing away. She stood still with anxiety as she watched him. He breathed hard once again, before quickly lunging back as though he had been hit by some unseen force.

Lara eyed him curiously as he steadied his balance. He grabbed his head with pain, giving the look of just having been punched. Something about his powers seemed to drain his energy, making him weaker, making him-

Lara felt surprisal run through her veins in that instant as the ground suddenly began to shake. She quickly steadied her movements upon the rock's facing beside her as her knees began to succumb to the sudden movement. She stared upward, weary of any large stones that might have worked themselves away from their base upon the cliff-side. She felt herself sigh with relief as the movement suddenly stopped. She quickly began forward, trying to reach Kurtis.

She stood still once at his side, slight shock still within her. She looked to him with wide eyes.

"What did you just do?" Lara asked him, frightened brows lining her features.

"I let them know we were here." he answered, still separate from the world.

Lara stared at him as he stopped. "Who?"

He didn't answer but simply walked a few feet away from the symbols, studying the mountain.

Lara stared forward at his silence. She directed her eyes at the four carving, now glowing brightly with an eerie essence. She watched the symbols, expecting them to conform, and lead her and Kurtis toward their next objective.

Her eyes turned to her companion at the thought. Kurtis seemed nervous, scared even. There was something about his home, something that made him different around her. He was more distant, even though he had never been that close to begin with, other than physically.

She smiled at the thought of them together, of the motel room and the intimacy they shared. Her frown returned however, as the thought of Winston appeared in her mind. She would have to delay the thoughts if her and Kurtis were ever going to accomplish their goa-

Lara suddenly let out a frightened scream as she felt herself falling down, falling into nothing, being absorbed by the ashy ground as it began to spin around her.

She acted fast, thrusting out her arm, searching for anything that would keep her from falling further.

Kurtis had already grabbed her elbow.

He forcefully pulled her away from the whirling salt and up toward him, resting her body upon the solid ground, now holding her wait.

Lara steadied her feet as Kurtis helped her gain her bearing, surprised at the way he had grabbed her, surprised at her un-angered expression. She stared at Kurtis. For once, she didn't want to curse a man for helping her. She actually wanted him to. She wanted _Kurtis_ to.

She turned back toward the trap he had helped her from. She watched the ground, stirring and spinning before them, sinking deep, hoping to capture an unsuspecting victim.

The strange movements suddenly stalled as the crystalline earth slowly began to flow upward, blowing rapidly away from the space it had occupied until hardly any salt remained.

The motion stopped.

They stared with surprise. The ground's previous actions had created a path into the earth that ran toward the mountainside. The crevice before them wasn't very large, no more than 6 feet wide and 8 feet deep at it's lowest end. Ancient stairs led into the ever darkening abyss, as the remaining salt upon them was gently blown away.

Kurtis left Lara's side and slowly walked toward the gaping darkness. He stared down as his lips slightly curved.

Lara watched him. He hadn't shown any signs of happiness ever since they had arrived at this place. She didn't understand why it haunted him so.

His feet shifted forward, beginning down the stairs, bringing him closer to his destiny, daring him to step again, wanting him to.

Lara slowly followed him as he cautiously entered the dark tunnel. The sun grew dim as they continued, and finally faded away as their feet pummeled slowly down the stairs and into the black path ahead, unsure of what was to come.


	20. Hidden Tests

Chapter 20

Their shadows were hidden by darkness as they continued forward. The tunnel headed straight and slightly down, leading them under the mountainside, and closer toward the ancient Vial.

The companions were blind as they walked, no glint of light anywhere as the tunnel continued for several minutes. The air smelt of moisture and mold, though neither could possibly have made itself into this hidden place.

Lara, unsure of their destination, considered a flare. The idea was cut short as a slight brightness appeared before her eyes. The tunnel was still too dark to see clearly, but her eyes could now make out the faint outline of the rectangular floor, and the white ceiling that hovered only two feet above them.

Kurtis's pace had quickened; he had seen it too. She followed behind, ever nearing the faint light, which now grew brighter to her eyes. Lara could hear a faint echoing noise ahead, and could barely see Kurtis as he wandered farther forward. She quickened her pace, the noise growing louder along with the light.

They were there. The tunnel ended.

Lara starred ahead, peering past Kurtis's shadowed outline. An opening had appeared 20 feet in front of them, and the appearance of a large room could be seen on its other side. They started toward it.

Lara and Kurtis were forced to shield their eyes as the familiarity of darkness was suddenly changed.

Lara waited for the brightness to settle, and forced her lids open to peer at the room before her. She smiled.

The room was moderately large, rounded, and held a high ceiling that stretched no more than 30 feet above them. She stared at the room; almost identical to the one in Annaba that they had been forced to scale, only a lot smaller. This room only had one floor, and only one set of doors on its opposite side, immense and colored dark red. The doors were made even more eerie by the light that shown against their surface. Several torches lined the room in no specific place, and a single candle lay in the center of the room atop a thin, stone alter; all were kept burning by some ancient occult mysticism, or even a curse of some kind.

They entered the room, cautiously waiting for an unwanted presence to show itself. None did. The room was still and silent, other that their footsteps cast gently upon the marble floor. Lara stared down, studying the stone below her. The floor was a faint yellow on its outer edges, either natural or tinted by the flames, Lara couldn't tell. Inside of the edge, the floor was identical to the giant door; dark red. Its surface was decorated with thin lines of black that ran along the red colored marble. Lara studied it, familiarity in its presence. She backed away, searching for a better view to configure the markings. She grinned with annoyance as she saw its pattern. Again the branded circle ran across the floor, symbolizing the Lux Veritatis and that Kurtis was supposed to be here.

Lara redirected her attention to the giant doors. She neared them, cautiously watching the floor, searching for any dents or rises where traps may be tripped. She crossed without disruption, and stared at the object before her.

Her hands met cold iron, graced by ancient nails, and a long since rotten wooden support. She pushed forward on its surface to find that it wouldn't move. It had either jammed, or Kurtis wasn't meant to walk through it. She looked for him throughout the chamber to find him staring forward, taking in the room and contemplating his destiny. He looked confused as he walked toward the candle that stood in the middle of the room.

"It's locked." Lara called to him, her hand still firmly against the door. She received no answer. Lara exhaled with unwanted disappointment. She felt strange as Kurtis constantly neglected her, especially after sleeping with him. She was starting to feel that he had only used her. _"No."_ Her mind spoke out as she realized that she had been the one who used _him_.

She felt like a whore at that moment, and quickly redirected her mind. Maybe the reason he was acting so strange was because of her actions the previous night. She regretted coming back to attack him. She felt immature and unlike herself at the thought of the attempt. Maybe he was afraid of her. Maybe he didn't trust her. Lara's mind suddenly laughed with pathetic gullibility. Why did she care how he treated her anyway? _"What's done is done."_ She told herself. _"And I don't regret any of it."_

Lara bit her lip with personal disgust. She _did_ care about his neglect. She was worried about it, worried about how he felt about her.

Her concern wasn't like before however. She wasn't scared about him _liking_ her, but disappointed at the thought that he didn't.

She slowly turned her head toward him, not wanting to attract attention to her longing stare.

Kurtis stared at the candle which sat before him. The small flame flickered off his pupils, creating the essence of a demon against his eyes as he neared the unscathed wax, it's form still solid after thousands of years aflame; Lara would love it.

He called to her.

Lara was relieved as Kurtis called her name. It was the first time since they had arrived that he had truly acknowledged her being there. She smiled to herself as she started toward him, maybe he had forgiven her. _"Or maybe he hadn't blamed you in the first place."_

Lara stopped. Something distant rang within her ear, alarming her of a nearby presence. She listened quietly in the direction of the giant door. She stared at it as the slight noise of a large object dragged across a textured floor sounded on the opposite side.

She heard Kurtis speak "This is incredible." as she timidly scanned the doorway.

She ignored his words, focusing entirely on the door that stood before her. She grabbed her pistol as the noise sounded again, louder this time. Someone, or _something_ was behind it, waiting for them to let their guard down or to activate the door, and set _whatever it was _free.

"Kurtis." Lara spoke lowly to gain her companion's attention, though she never took her eyes from the locked door. "There's something in their."

She received no answer.

"Kurtis." Lara repeated, slightly louder as she slowly backed away from the iron gateway in front of her. "There is_ something _in there."

Again, no answer came.

The noise sounded again and Lara was forced to slightly jump out of fear and anxiousness. She didn't know what to expect, but there was no doubt in her mind that soon she would be facing the creature that awaited her.

"Get back." she stated to Kurtis. She could see him from the corner of her eyes. He was silent in response.

"Kurtis!" Lara screamed, ignoring the sound that continued through the doorway out of sheer annoyance. She received the answer of "What!" from Kurtis, just, if not more, aggravated than _her _statement was. Lara stared at him with angered features, undescribably frustrated at his ignoring her. She started again, her face slightly red in color. "I said, that there is something behind the fucking doo-"

Lara's words were cut short as the iron door before her suddenly left its ancient hinges and burst open, delivering an unbearable amount of force throughout the hollowed room, nearly knocking her to the floor. She quickly jumped backward and leveled her pistols, aiming toward the newly opened passageway.

She stared at the gaping darkness that stood before her, unsure of what was to come.

The room was silent at that moment as the scraping noise no longer came. Lara held steady hands as her aim never waned. She breathed lightly as Kurtis appeared by her side. She ignored him, completely absorbed with-

Her thoughts were interrupted as a new noise occurred, a sweeping noise, the noise of an object moving rapidly through the air, a no doubt deadly object in this instance.

She saw the fatal instrument. It's slightly visible form coming toward her.

Lara quickly holstered her guns and stared forward with a smile. The blur grew larger, and she could make out the object that sped rapidly toward her, an ancient spear, blackened with age.

She stared, studying the weapon's movement before thrusting her arm outward and stepping to the side.

Lara's hand met the blistered wood and she quickly pivoted on her heel. Her body spun rapidly around and she fiercely threw her arm forward, lunging the spear back toward the darkness with a single movement.

The silence ended as the spear hit its target, the noise one of metal upon metal. A sturdy target.

The noise suddenly changed however, changed to the noise that she had heard earlier, that of the shuffling creature coming closer.

Lara and Kurtis didn't move. Their eyes were set, waiting for the ancient being to present itself.

The noise grew louder at that moment, as the shadows slowly separated, teasing the naked eye and making time seem even slower. Then, the enemy appeared.

A dim light covered the single knight's form as a cracking noise erupted from its chest, the sound of the spear wedged in its upper body splitting apart, the figure ripping it out, unscathed by the attempt to kill it.

"Not again." Lara stated aloud as the knight threw the wooden slab to the ground.

She reached for her pistols but stopped as her eyes met the broken spear; it was covered in blood, the blood of a living thing. This warrior wasn't like the ones she had encountered before. He was real, a living and breathing form part of some ancient mysticism, and immortal as it seemed.

Kurtis held his Boran X firmly with his hand. He stared at the ancient knight, something familiar about its presence, something telling him that this warrior was somehow the key to this cursed place. The knights armor was thicker than any he had ever seen. Its breastplate held the symbol of the Lux Veritatis, and a helmet covered the warriors face, hiding its features and true appearance.

Kurtis slightly stepped back as the knight retrieved a large sword from its sheath. Kurtis returned his advance however, as the warrior began toward Lara. He breathed rapidly and aimed his pistol as the knight met Lara's form, threatening her life. He fired.

Kurtis watched as the sword fell from the soldier's grasp. He then aimed at the creature's head, ready to fire once again.

He instantly stopped as the figure's breastplate became more apparent. The inner quarters were lined with the letters LTV, the sign of _his_ lineage.

All the lore he was taught as a child instantly returned to his mind as he stared at the ancient warrior, the lessons of the guardian knights and those who wore the Lux Veritatis emblem. He remembered the statements of truth and honor between those who served his cause and-

Kurtis's mind stalled as he saw Lara before him, her gun cocked, ready to destroy the creature that had attacked them.

"Don't." Kurtis lightly spoke before rushing to her side. "Let him pick up the sword."

Lara stared at Kurtis with confusion. "Are you insane?" she asked with sarcasm. "Let him pick up the damn thing so he can kill us with it?"

"It isn't like that." Kurtis replied as he turned to the knight. "I don't know what it is, but something's telling me that he can help us."

Lara stared at the warrior one last time before unsurely lowering her pistol. "You'd better be right about this."

The companions were still, as though mocking the creature's motions. There was no movement throughout the room, only silence, silence that was quickly broken as the knight stepped closer toward them.

Lara fought her instincts and forced herself to remain still as the being approaching. Her anxiety ended as the creature suddenly turned its head as if confused. Lara watched him, unsure of the knight's actions, until it proved her assumptions false and began to speak. Something the other warriors she had encountered failed to do. The creature's voice was commanding, but had an absent presence. It seemed to glide across the room, drifting upon echoes that weren't even their. Its distant bearing forced a shiver through Lara as she listened to the creature's words.

"Why have you halted your defense Kurtis Trent?"

Lara looked to Kurtis with confusion from the statement. He held a smile on his face, knowing that he had been right, and that he was closer to his final goal. She was glad to see it. "How did he know your name?"

"I don't know." Kurtis replied as he slowly walked past her and neared the mythical soldier that stood proudly before them. "If you know me," Kurtis started, then hesitated with anxiousness, "then you know why I'm here."

The iron helmet convincingly nodded forward in response. Kurtis slightly receded his advance as the creature's hands started forward, Kurtis sighed with relief as it brought them to its head. He watched with curiosity as the knight gripped the metal cover on its head, and lifted it upward.

Lara and Kurtis were silent as the warrior's helmet was taken away. They stood with disbelief as a chin appeared, and was followed by nostrils, and a pair of eyes. This creature was no creature at all, _he_ was human.

The form was normal to every extent. The man beneath the armor was no more than thirty years old as Lara could tell, physically that was. His head was thickly covered with brown hair, and his eyes were blue, reminding her of Kurtis's. No facial hair graced the stocky man's face, and his appearance was that of any average being, other than the stub of a spear that stuck from the middle of his chest.

His mouth opened once again, delivering the heavenly melody that continued to astonished Lara.

"Yes, I know you Kurtis Trent, the son of the former Lux Veritatis leader Konstantine. You are the savior of the world, and the man who will-"

"How?" Kurtis cut the ancient guardian off with confusion and slight anger at his father's name. "How do you know all this. Who are you?"

"I am the knight Garen, a simple messenger," the man continued, "kept alive by the original Constantine to lead you on your way, and guide you to your destiny."

"But how do you know _me_?"

"That is not important. You have made it this far, and that is all that matters." the knight ended his words as he walked toward a torch on the circular wall. "You have passed the test, and now you must receive the scripture."

Lara looked to Kurtis with a questioning glance, then turned back to Garen. "Test?"

"The first of five." The knight spoke out as he gripped the nearest torch and forced it from the wall. "Kurtis has extensive knowledge of the Lux Veritatis, the most formidable being his honor. He remembered the sacred lineage of never attacking a member of his own kindred group." He stopped as a grin appeared across the ancient face. "Something I am very thankful for."

"But you said five." Lara began as she turned to Kurtis, frustrated. "Five tests means that the Vial isn't here."

"I was not meant to lead you to the sacred Vial," Garen answered her protest, "but simply toward your next step in finding it."

Kurtis shook his head with angry realization. "So the map," he spoke softly, "wasn't a map at all. All I needed was the sentence printed on it, so that I would come here." Kurtis stared as the knight slowly nodded his head in agreement. "How did you know I would understand it?" Kurtis continued. "Or that I would even survive the Realm of Valor."

"We did not know either." Garen answered. "But we _did_ know that your companion could achieve both." The knight's eyes waned to Lara as he mysteriously smiled.

"What?" Lara asked with a disbelieving grin and slight sarcasm. "You knew I was going to be with him?"

"We have known many things for many years." The man simply stated before bowing toward her.

Lara and Kurtis watched unsurely as the knight turned away from them, and started through the now opened iron door. The torch within his grasp reflected eerily off of the ancient walls of the hidden fortress.

Lara smiled with achievement as she turned to Kurtis. Her expression was met by its opposite. "What is it?" Lara asked, confused at his concerned look.

"Nothing." He harshly stated before walking aggressively past her. He headed toward the path that Garen had taken.

Lara stared at him with anger and slight worry. She wanted to hate him, but couldn't. He was too incredible to hate, and too desperate. He needed her and she knew it.

And with the death of Winston, she needed _him_.

Kurtis stepped into the near darkness with Lara following closely behind. He listened to the knight's words as Garen continued to guide them.

"You will now receive the first ancestral scroll." the figure stated as it's iron foot holds clashed loudly against the marble floor. "You shall receive one during the completion of each of your tests, and each will help to guide you toward the next, until eventually your quest will be complete."

Garen suddenly halted as he turned to face the companions. Lara had just noticed the small podium that stood behind the warrior, gracing the path's dead-end, and presenting them with an ancient roll of paper.

Kurtis greedily went toward the scroll as Garen looked on with a satisfied stare.

Lara watched as Kurtis quickly unrolled the paper, unscathed by time, just as the mystical candle had been in the previous room. His eyes ran rapidly across its surface as he read the scripture's message.

Garen spoke the words aloud as Kurtis read them within his mind. "Discover the next path of gallantry in the one place where the Lux Veritatis were truly born."

Kurtis slowly lowered the scripture and looked to Lara as the words were finalized, a never ending glance that had the feelings of confusion, acceptance, and relief. He smiled at her as he started toward her...and kept going, back to the main hall.

Lara watched him as he passed by her, a grimacing smile across his face. He knew something that she didn't, as his eyes were full of excitement and anxiousness at the scrolls disoriented message. She looked up as Garen moved in front of her. His features seemed different at that moment, and Lara slightly backed away out of surprise. She forced herself to calm as the face continued to change, conforming into an older image of himself, the darkness turning grey and the beauty turning horrid.

"Thankyou." She softly stated before quickly turning around wanting to catch up with Kurtis, but also wanting to leave the strangeness of the changing features. Her motion was stopped as the knight's voice rang out "Wait" behind her.

Lara quickly turned back toward him. She slightly gasped at the presence before her, no longer young and attractive, but old and decayed, aging in a mere second from what would normally take a lifetime.

"The candle." Garen spoke within his final words. "It must be put out, or I am to remain in this prison for all of eternity. My work is done. Won't you set me free?"

Lara stared at the now old and withered features of the ancestral knight as he spoke. She gently nodded her head when his words had finished, she would do him the favor; she would kill him.

Lara slowly walked out of the tunnel and back into the circular hall. She stared at the candle as she walked toward it. Its shape was perfect, a solid cylinder even after thousands of years of being aflame. It gave off a bright white essence like Lara had never seen. She didn't want to end its beauty, but forced her lips to conform, and unleash air upon the small flame.

The light flickered lightly, then suddenly disappeared, just as Garen had, no longer a man, but a pile of dust upon the ancient floor. Lara smiled with admiration as she walked toward the mystical fortress's exit. Kurtis stood in the small tunnel's entrance, staring at her as she came toward him.

"Nice thing you did." Kurtis stated with a smile, a smart elect tone in his voice. "Killing him."

Lara returned the attitude, "Maybe one day I'll do it for you."

(-)

Sunlight struck across shadowed faces as they emerged from the underground fortress. Lara covered her eyes as its beams evilly pulled at her eyes. She saw Kurtis going rapidly toward the parked Jeep that he had driven to the canyon wall.

"What's the hurry?" Lara asked as she started toward the vehicle. "We still haven't figured out the scroll yet."

"It's done." Kurtis told her as he started the ignition, and shifted to Drive.

"What?" Lara asked as she opened the passenger door and casually climbed into the Jeep.

"The next scroll's in Turkey. " He answered as the vehicle lunged forward.

Lara smiled with sarcasm. "May I ask how you know this."

"Because of the text on the first one."" Kurtis replied. "It said 'the place where the Lux Veritatis are born.' It can't mean that literally because the clan was spread all over the world."

"So _born_ is a metaphor for what?"

"Our lineage." Kurtis replied as they sped across the barren salt flats. "There's a cathedral in Samandira, Istanbul where all the members take their final vows and become an official part of the Lux Veritatis. So in their terms that's where we're truly 'born,' or _initiated_ into the clan."

Lara smiled as she stared at him with amazement. "So we _are_ actually going to the site of the ancient Byzantine Empire?" she asked with sarcasm as Kurtis smiled. She bit her lip, despite her anger at him for all of the trouble he had caused, "I guess you're smarter than I thought you were."

**A/N: Man am I glad that's done, those 2 'Utah' chapters aren't my favorite I've read them so much I'm sick of them. I'll be able to get through the rest a lot quicker cause I actually enjoy them. ;) Need some more reviews guys! Don't want to write a sequel for a stoey that only 16 people have read!**


	21. On Holy Ground

Chapter 21

Kurtis quickly purchased the tickets for the earliest flight to Samandira, and eagerly made his way back to Lara, slightly afraid of leaving her alone.

He stared at her from across the empty airport, contemplating the possible thoughts she may be having and the emotions she may be experiencing. Her shoulders were drooped, the position making his assumptions of her condition a worried one. He started toward her.

"Lara?"

Kurtis stopped as he stared at her features, her eyes red and swollen as tears ran down her cheeks.

She quickly looked away, embarrassed by her emotions as she wiped away the dampened streaks. "I'm fine." she spoke lowly.

Kurtis neared her. His hand gripped her shoulder, delivering comfort and caring.

Lara shrugged away. "I said_ I'm fine_."

"But you're not." he returned, crouching beside her, ignoring her gestures for him to leave.

She shook her head, forcing her emotions to stay inside; it was impossible.

Her head instantly fell, caught by her hands, held tightly as she sighed with sorrow, the tears streaming faster now. She felt Kurtis's hand against her back, and slowly looked to him. "It's all my fault." she spoke through saddened moans and spastic breaths as she stared into his eyes. "He died. Because of _me_, he died."

"Don't." Kurtis spoke sternly though his voice was soft. "He died because of _them_, because that's what they do, destroy life." He stopped as he shook his head. "We have to stop them."

"We will." Lara quickly returned, staring at the floor, her teeth clenched, anger replacing sadness.

Kurtis smiled as he stood. "So it is _we_?"

Lara nodded. "We."

He gently brushed the loose strands of hair away from her eyes. "I like that."

Lara didn't answer, but simply stared, unsure of the meaning behind his statement, but nevertheless, eager to get to Samandira, eager to enact her revenge.

She quickly grabbed the bag at her side, never looking at Kurtis as she passed by him. She stared forward.

Her body angrily rushing toward the Turkey air terminal.

(-)

Lara's hand gripped firmly around the rubber-ended binoculars as she held them to her eyes. She took in the city-scape before her, and stared at the small pointed arch that Kurtis had confirmed as the Samandira Cathedral of Constantine.

While the structure's roof could be seen clearly when searched for, the immense arches and buttresses of the other mosques and churches blocked the placement out, commanding eyes to look upon them and all of their brilliance.

The town was large, but not overly so. The red roofed buildings were packed tightly together, seeming to make one large structure, with the exception of the tall religious formations that appeared periodically throughout the view.

Everything seemed to be dead as the sun beamed down forcefully upon the quaint buildings, its noon day face plaguing onlookers with sweat and discomfort. Some elements of green could be seen in the distance, but most had been destroyed by heat, and "human development."

Lara started down the barren hillside in which she stood as she saw Kurtis pass beside her. Their feet slowly crushed the dead grass within the un-leveled field , turning it to dust beneath their heavy boots.

They had received an excellent view of Samandira from the slightly elevated position, and could clearly see their path through the moderately crowded streets that awaited them. The cathedral wasn't far from their position, and Lara was anxious to see it. She couldn't wait to lay her eyes upon all of the Lux Veritatis architectural elements placed within a public place, rather than a hidden cavern or secret contrivance.

They quickly walked down the uncongenial streets, keeping their eyes from connecting with the locals, not wishing to be the target of beggars and solicitors, or muggers for that matter.

Lara saw the dark entrance of their destination appear around a corner as they continued forward. She felt her feet move with slight anxiousness, bringing the building faster toward her.

Lara looked upward as her movements suddenly stopped.

She stared at the towering structure above her with confusion. Its once beautiful features were completely gone, leaving the barren and disgusting look of age and not caring.

A stone made wall arose highly before her. The grayish color the structure should have honed, was turned green from mold and uncontrolled vines, which covered ancient carvings and arches, cracking and destroying them.

The few gargoyles that remained visible, held the same broken features, as erosion and time caused their own destruction.

Other than the expected malformations, the architecture of the church held different textures and colors, and seemed to construct the features of a maze rather than a cathedral. Lara summed the building up in one word, disappointing.

"That's it?" Lara asked, unenthusiastically.

"What?" Kurtis returned, wondering about her inquiry.

"It's ugly." Lara answered with a slightly disappointed expression. "I was expecting some amazing piece of architecture from your ancestors."

"They had more important things to worry about." He answered with a smile. He winked at her, and started up the stairs toward the main entrance door.

"Apparently." she spoke to herself. She shrugged her shoulders and followed him.

At the door Kurtis suddenly stopped. "Are you ready for this?"

"Please." Lara sarcastically answered. "It can't possibly be as bad as the exterior."

Kurtis forced open the door, and held it wide as if daring her to go inside. Lara went in without hesitation, but stopped immediately once she was through the doorway. She stared with surprise.

(-)

The balding man kept an eye trained on the two figures before him, positively identifying them as the ones he was to search for, the woman with the braided hair and the Lux Veritatis warrior. He watched them timidly as they walked down the street, eyeing the buildings surrounding them. He sighed with pleasure as they started up the stairs of the Samandira Cathedral of Constantine. They were definitely Lara Croft and Kurtis Trent. He smiled, picking up the cell phone that lay in the seat beside him, rapidly dialing numbers as he brought it to his ear. The payment was surely his now; his hirer would be pleased.

(-)

Lara continued to stare as Kurtis directed her forward, her eyes trained on the structure that surrounded her. The interior of the cathedral was unimaginable.

Giant stone pillars lined the walls for what seemed a thousand feet high, caressed by slight carvings which told ancient stories, hidden within the stonework. The gothic architecture of the ceiling and stained glass structures gave Lara an eerie yet awed feeling as she slowly stepped forward.

Massive statues of knights and ancient nobles stood in rows near the center of the huge rectangular room. Paintings were hung low as to be looked upon by all, but Lara could see no pews whatsoever. The building reminded her more of a museum than of a cathedral.

This room was not natural for the churches of its time. Rather than one huge hallway graced by another, this cathedral seemed clumsy, as though certain sections had been built at different times. Though awkward, it was the most beautiful cathedral she had ever seen.

"This is the Catholic entry room." Kurtis began "The main worship hall is through there." He pointed to a giant cedar door on the far side of the room. "The church bishop should be inside."

"So this is just an entry hall?" Lara asked "I thought it looked a little strange. I didn't even know cathedrals had entry halls."

"This cathedral is special." he told her. "When my ancestors constructed it, they knew what they were building for."

As they continued toward the doors, Lara helped herself to the inscriptions on the statues she passed. This place was amazing. She wondered why she had never heard of it before.

"The archbishops of the olden days," Kurtis began as if reading her mind, "tried to keep this place as secretive as possible. That's why the outside walls look like shit. It was actually built like that so only the clan would worship here."

"Why build anything?" Lara asked with curiosity. "Wouldn't the next test be better hidden without this gigantic building directing attention to it?"

"Yeah, but this place must have been built as a marker. It's a lot easier this way." He answered with a smile. "It also gives an explanation." He continued. "These old churches are mazes themselves. Seeing someone go down a passage here means nothing, but seeing someone disappear into a hillside can raise suspension."

"Right."

Kurtis's hands reached out and pushed open the giant cedar door. An immense light seemed to flood out of the room, and the two were forced to look away. As Lara redirected her eyes, she had to fight to keep from falling to her knees.

Before her was the most brilliant thing she had ever seen. A huge annular room, even bigger than the previous, circled around them. The walls were constructed of marble, a type she had never seen before, that glistened as though crystals ran throughout its entire surface. Above her, she stared as immense arches pointed to the heavens.

She saw hundreds of solid cedar pews lined in several rows throughout the room. In an extremely wide pathway through the center of the angelic benches, stood several statues lined in two rows, much like the room before. Though beautiful in itself, it in no way compared to the object in front of her.

Almost the entire opposite side of the room was constructed of pure stained glass. This extravagant window hugged half of the wall and ran upward, caressing parts of the ceiling as well. It curved around, identical to the room itself, giving off shades of every color imaginable upon the walls, turning them brilliant purples, greens, and reds.

Kurtis saw Lara's jaw drop and smiled to himself, "Amazing isn't it?"

Lara simply nodded her head and quickly headed toward the colorful masterpiece. She was even more amazed as the glass design became more evident. The black iron made no pattern at all, unlike most stained glass windows, but the colored glass itself formed a perfect and recognizable object.

"It's your tattoo." She spoke lowly, as Kurtis appeared beside her.

"Yeah." he simply stated.

Lara jumped with surprise and came out of her trance with the window, as a loud noise sounded through a set of double doors on the adjacent wall. She eyed the place from which it came, and instinctively placed her palms by her 9mms, waiting for some ancient evil to confront them. The noise sounded strange, as though someone where singing.

The doors suddenly burst open, and Lara unsheathed her weapons. The noised stalled, and all she could see was darkness throughout the newly exposed hall. She stared forward, watching, waiting for the moment she would be forced to kill.

"Put that away!" she suddenly heard in a loud and aggravated voice. She then saw a short, slightly rounded man walking limply through the opened doors. She realized this man was the church bishop by the extravagant clothes that adorned his plump figure, and quickly holstered her pistols. She then saw several other men accompany him, dressed slightly less elegant than the first.

"How can I help you sir?" He asked Kurtis, not even acknowledging the striking woman standing next to him. Lara remembered how the catholic church saw woman as lower beings than men. She clutched her fist at the idea, but looked to Kurtis when she realized that it was something she had never seen him do.He looked at her as a equal, and she admired that in him. She smiled to herself, and quickly focused on the bishop and Kurtis's rapid conversation.

"I'm sorry my boy," she heard the priest say in response to Kurtis's words. "But we have never had a pastor named Konstantine here." he paused, timidness and anxiety in his vocals. Why?"

Kurtis thought. His mind focusing on the correct words. "Perhaps the name Trent then?"

The bishop slightly shook at the name. The man seemed nervous. Lara watched cautiously as he wiped the slight perspiration from his brow. She saw the other men watching Kurtis closely, staring at the Lux Veritatis warrior in a strange way. They listened with devious expressions.

"No." the short bishop stated with firmness. "Never heard of _him_ either."

Kurtis seemed to grow impatient as the annoying little man refused his requests. He calmed himself, and tried his best to hold in his aggravation. "Padre," he began, "may we speak with you alone for a moment ." Kurtis eyed the principled men surrounding them, staring like vultures at a wounded animal. He didn't trust them. "Do you have a separate room away from the main worship area?"

The bishop began to shake furiously. "No." he quickly spoke with a slightly commanding voice. "I think you should leave."

Kurtis angrily eyed the man, then turned to Lara and nodded, as to warn her of his next actions.

"And take this foul woman with you." The bishop continued, gesturing to Lara. "Desecrating the lord's house with such weapons of destru-"

The bishops words were stopped as Kurtis lunged forward, grabbed the man's arm, and forced it behind his back. He twisted it harshly as if to break it, but didn't.

Lara saw one of the church priest start toward him. She quickly leveled her gun. "Don't." she said aloud to the frightened men. They slowly backed away from Kurtis, and looked on with fear.

"Sir Bishop," Kurtis said in a calm voice, as his captive let out slight winces of pain. "is there somewhere quiet where we can speak?" Kurtis asked again in a slower yet more urgent tone.

"You'll never get the Via-" Kurtis quickly clasps his hand over the old man's mouth before the words could get out, just incase one of the parish followers had received a visit from his demonic friends. He quickly forced the man forward, and through the door in which the priest had entered. Lara kept the priests at bay as she followed her companion and the terrified bishop. She slammed the door behind her as she entered the hallway, turning the bolt lock above the handle.

Once through the darkness, Kurtis released the man's arm and set him in a wooden chair, which sat in the middle of the small, office-like room.

"Now," Kurtis began, with his hand still covering the bishop's mouth. "Will you let me explain something?" He asked, and slowly took his hand away.

"I know who you are." The bishop desperately began. "You're the wraiths that the elders warned us about. You will never get _it_, it is for the final savior only."

Lara watched Kurtis curiously as she saw him grab the base of his own shirt and quickly pull it over his head. She quickly looked away and bit her thumb, not wishing to bring up any intimate memories of him from before.

"The true savior can only-" the frightened man halted his words as he eyed Kurtis's chest. "The brand." he spoke in an astonished and extremely low voice.

Lara jumped away as the man leaped from his chair and fell to the floor.

"Master!" the bishop shouted, as if praising Kurtis. "I did not know it was you."

"You were just doing your job." Kurtis sullenly spoke, pretending to know what he was doing. "Now you have to help me do mine."

(-)

The bishop, after several protests about Lara's involvement in the mission, hurriedly led them back outside to the main chamber. He quickly shunned away all the priests, and walked to the center pathway. "It is sad my son, but these seats used to be full. Even I remember such a time. It is hard to believe that so many have perished in so few years." he chatted as he led them onward. "The tunnel is what you seek. That is where your work shall be continued."

The bishop suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to Kurtis. He seemed as though he could sense, or hear something in the other room. "They are coming." He shouted as he turned back to the companions. He quickly grabbed Kurtis and blessed him. "You must have faith my son! You must have faith!"

"What are you tal-" Kurtis stopped as the door from the entry hall suddenly burst open. The doors stood still, emptiness within, gaping wide and greeting them through to some evil demise. Kurtis stopped his breath as he heard the slight clinking noise of metal on metal.

Lara and Kurtis looked at one another, speaking with there motions and knowing the destructive noise from past encounters. They quickly ran in opposite directions, taking cover behind the spaced statues. Lara grabbed the pastor and jerked him down with her, away from any _soon to be present _danger.

A deadly silence filled the room before the noise sounded again.

"Watch out!" Kurtis shouted as a grenade passed swiftly through the doors, and made its way toward them. He covered his head and fell to the floor as the explosion sounded. Kurtis could feel the room shaking and his ears slowly muffling out the world around him. He struggled to open his eyes as the shaking ceased, and daringly raised them to see if Lara was hurt. Instead, another explosion greeted his senses. He quickly covered his head as fragments of marble and cedar where blown throughout the room. He slowly took his hands away, and flipped himself over, his back against the cold floor.

He reached for his Boran X, but was disrupted as he saw the statue above him violently rocking forward. Kurtis quickly rolled sideways as the stone figure crashed into the floor where he previously lay, now inches from his face.

"Lara!" he shouted, worried at what the explosions could have done. He slightly raised his head to see over the newly fallen debris that separated her from him. He cringed as he saw a pool of blood where Lara had been hiding. Fear entered his stomach at way _may_ have happened. Ignoring the danger, he foolishly stood to reach her, afraid at what he would find. He then heard a rapid clicking noise in the distance.

"Get down!" Lara's vocals suddenly sounded as she saw him standing up.

The voice came as a heavenly sign of relief as Kurtis fell to the floor, bullets racing toward him. He hadn't seen the enemies that stood by the room's entrance, machine guns in their hands, anxiously waiting to destroy his life. He could hear the base of the fallen marble statue shattering behind him, as lead tore the placement apart. He grabbed his weapon, ready to do his own damage.

"What's going on?" the bishop asked as he grabbed Lara. She had just noticed the gaping hole in his side where wooden shrapnel had torn away his flesh.

"The _real_ wraiths have come to see you." She answered, as she pressed one of her hands against the wound, trying to prevent the rapid bleeding. She equipped a pistol with the other, as the bullets came nearer. She lowered her head as the stone before her slightly crumbled, destroyed by the onslaught of hot lead. She retook her stance, steadying her right knee and lifting the left, bringing her foot to the floor. She aimed, ready to pull the trigger, when the bishop reached out and grabbed her arm.

"No!" the bishop shouted. "You mustn't fire. You must have faith! You must have faith!"

Kurtis suddenly stopped as he heard the bishop crying out. He thought for a moment, using what little time he could afford. "I must have faith?" He said to himself. He looked at the gun in his hand. "It's a test."

"You must have faith." the bishop repeated, starring at Lara

She heard a bullet pass by her ear. "Fuck that." She spoke. "Kurtis is the one who needs faith, not me." She leveled her pistol once again, aiming at the forehead of the wraith before her's human form.

"It is a test for you as well!" the bishop hurriedly shouted before he fell backwards, the loss of blood disorientating his mind.

Lara stared at him. "Why am I being tested!" she shouted as the bishop's eyes slowly closed. "What am I meant to do! Lara shook the pastor's limp body, but he was already dead. She didn't understand. What did she have to do with this, or _anything_?

Kurtis stared at the gun, wanting to fire back at the ruthless demons who were destroying his life. He clenched the trigger, ready to kill, but threw the weapon aside. He knew what he had to do, and he knew how frightening it was. He spotted a statue of the Virgin Mary a few feet away, the blue cloth draped around her face. "Great Test." he spoke to the statue as he stood, and walked out into the isle, away from his cover. Bullets grazed the air beside him, as he spotted the enemy. He started toward them.


	22. A Higher Power

Chapter 22

Lara stared with dread as the form of Kurtis appeared in the isle beside her. His body was unprotected, greeting bullets to tear him apart. A strange feeling entered her mind as he continued forward, continued toward his death.

"Kurtis!" Lara screamed with fear and sadness. Her throat blistered from the force.

Time slowed from frightful anticipation, and Lara watched Kurtis, the man she lov-she would not allow the thought to finish. She changed it,-the man who would save the world, the man who had to _survive_. The forbidden thoughts returned as the demons raised their automatic guns. "No!" Lara screamed once more. Kurtis couldn't die. _"I love him!" _shouted throughout her mind. She refused to hold it in any longer. _"I love him!_"

She felt her arms push the floor, lifting her to a stand. Her feet pummeled forward. She rushed toward him, her heart beating faster with every motion, waiting for the moment he would meet the floor with death.

Kurtis watched the human forms before him, and he was not afraid, not afraid of the weapons they held, or the smirks upon there lifeless faces. He had to have faith.

Anxiety was forced upon him however, as a figure appeared beside him. "What the fuck are you doing!" Kurtis shouting as Lara stood at his side, her face lined with fear and worry. He felt her body against him, pushing him away, trying to move him back. He forced her aside, wanting to protect her just as she was trying to protect him.

"Why are you doing this!" Lara cried out, pushing his arms away. She didn't understand what he was thinking. Why was he trying to die?

He stared forward as another wraith aimed its machine gun toward him. He felt Lara push her weight against him once more, frantically trying to move him from the line of fire. He remained still.

Lara stared at the wraiths, and then to Kurtis. The priest's words sounded in her mind. "It is a test for you as well!" The wraith was about to fire. She lowered her head, knowing her destiny. Kurtis was all that mattered.

Kurtis watched fearfully as Lara placed her body in front of him, trying to shield it from the wraiths defense. He forced his arms forward, trying to move her away from the danger. "No!" he screamed as the guns fired.

----------------------------------

Lara could hear nothing; the silence overtook her. All she could think of was Kurtis; he was in danger! She wanted to scream. What had happened? Was he dead? Was _she_ dead?

"_What was that?"_ she thought as a sudden movement grazed against her skin. It was familiar, warm and comforting; it was Kurtis. He held his arms tightly around her, slightly moving his body back and forth. She forced her eyes to open, forgetting her fear.

They were on the ground, sitting upright. Kurtis was behind her, his face buried in her shoulder as though he was crying, but wasn't. She looked upon her body, expecting blood, expecting death. There was none.

With fear and anticipation, she brought her eyes upward, remembering the wraiths. What she saw forced her to jump back with disbelief. Her movement caused Kurtis to stir from his mournful captivation. She heard him gasp and knew that he had seen it too.

Before her, levitating in the air, was a row of bullets. They stared at her, mere inches from her forehead. She watched them, unable to move from fear that their stall would be disrupted. She felt Kurtis's arms grip tighter around her body as they pulled her upward.

She felt her feet upon the ground, but her eyes remained fixated on the lead rounds now hovering at her stomach. She couldn't move out of terror and disbelief, pulled back only by Kurtis's motions to lead her to safety.

The two were still together. Kurtis's grip tightening around her waist as he realized what had happened; she was still alive. He smiled, despite the fearful awe than ran throughout his mind. His eyes gazed forward, upon the creatures that would've taken her life. He clenched his fist as he stared at them. His brows where arched and his nostrils flared with hatred. He was ready to kill, he _was _going to kill. He gently released his arms, and carefully helped Lara back to the ground, the disbelief still holding her mind prisoner.

He grabbed the churigai at his waist, it ate into his hand as his grip became unhuman. He began toward the monsters, now fearfully reloading their guns, confused by the previous events. Bullets shot forward and stopped in mid air as the demon's pulled back the automatic triggers. Kurtis ignored them as the vile creatures became closer.

He instantly thrust the weapon forward, greeting flesh with metal, abandoning his test of faith with anger.

Lara could hear the cold shrills of death in the distance, but her eyes remained focused on the lead rounds before her, the bullets that would've ended her life without the helping of some unseen force. She had never been a believing individual, but she had been wrong. Something had saved her life only minutes ago, something that wasn't of her world, but a higher one. She sighed as she closed her eyes.

Kurtis's rage continued as he gruesomely killed the evil before him. The churigai sliced through a throat, and them a stomach, killing, destroying the demons that would've destroyed Lara. He wanted to smile as every one of the creatures fell, collapsing into a pool of blood that grew bigger and bigger upon the marble floor.

He kicked away the final monsters gun, and sliced the blade across it's chest. The beast fell. Kurtis mouth lay open, gasping lightly for air as the slight exhaustion took his body. He stared at the floor, at the five bodies before him, all dead.

The elevated bullets fell.

Kurtis looked to Lara, her form slightly coming back into existence. He ran toward her.

Lara felt a warm touch against her face followed by a "Are you ok?" spoken in a male's voice. She looked toward the sound, the blue eyes meeting her own, filled with worry. She closed her eyes once again as her mind returned. "What just happened?" she quietly asked, picking up one of the _angelic_ bullets from off of the floor.

"We had faith." Kurtis simply replied.

Lara stared at him with confusion at his words."_That_ was the fucking test?" she asked with disbelief.

Kurtis smiled. "Yeah." He began. The smile faded. "But I fucked it up."

Lara looked to him. "What do you mea-" she stopped as Kurtis pointed to the main doors of the room. Her eyes met the massacre, the five dead bodies ripped apart by his ancient blade.

A simple "Oh." left her lungs, and Kurtis was surprised by her _un-angered _response. She looked to him as he explained the meaning of his barbaric actions. It was simple, they had tried to kill _her_. Lara looked away once he was done. She smiled.

She brought her eyes upward once again, and starred into Kurtis's. She felt strange as he gripped her hand, her recent confession plaguing her mind. Did she _love _him like she had told herself?

Their eyes didn't move, completely fixed into one another's. Reoccurring thoughts of the night at the motel returned to her mind as she felt Kurtis's hand against her back, pulling her toward him. She stared at his eyes, completely absorbed as he came closer, his lips meeting hers.

Her mind began racing once again as she placed her hands upon Kurtis's neck, pulling him in and changing his movements to her liking.

Did she? Did she _love_ him? She felt confused by her thoughts. Nevertheless, she opened her mouth wider as Kurtis's body pressed hard against her own, feeding her with slight pleasure, and leaving her wanting more as he parted their lips, and slowly backed away. Lara felt herself exhale loudly as she opened her eyes and met them with his.

They stared at one another, both contemplating the other's action. Lara, that Kurtis had kissed her, and Kurtis, that Lara had actually _let_ him kiss her. Kurtis was surprised as Lara's mouth slightly curved into a smile.

Their eyes finally parted as a loud noise erupted throughout the room. Kurtis gripped his blade and stared at the statue that had just fallen from it's platform, creating the stirring noise.

Lara suddenly looked down as she felt a presence against her. She was taken aback as she realized that Kurtis had gripped her hand during the disturbance, and for once, she felt safe and-though she didn't want to admit it-loved.

"That happened for a reason." Lara stated, something telling her that their _test_ had been completed.

Kurtis walked toward the broken figure at her words. His fingers still tightly locked with hers. He and Lara studied the structure, searching with hope that it was a sign instead of an accident caused by the previous conflict.

Kurtis let loose Lara's hand as he stared at the figure on the ground, the statue of the Virgin Mary he had spoken to before walking to his _faithful_ death. He looked into the figures eyes, knowing that she had answered him.

"It's hollow." Lara stated, breaking Kurtis's spiritual moment. She stared into the marble base of the structure, which formed into a dark and lifeless pit. She looked to Kurtis and smiled, grabbing a flare from her backpack. She handed it to him. "I guess you didn't fuck up after all."

Kurtis bit his lip with anxiousness as he took the flare from her grasp. He quickly supported himself onto the waist high structure, and pulled his legs over. He released his weight and his body fell into the darkness.

Kurtis ignited the flare. An immense green glow shined at its end, lighting the room and forming the walls. The space was small, barely ten feet wide. The hall continued forward however, so much that the green light did not reach the end. Kurtis started down the path, his anxiousness making it hard to be cautious. He wanted the next directions to the vial, to his next _test_. He wanted to scream at the word. They had tortured him enough with these faith and honor deeming _missions_.

He felt his heart race as a slight green reflection shined back at him, a wall. He rushed forward as a podium appeared before him, upon it lye the ancient scroll, again preserved by an unspeakable power, the same power that had saved his and Lara's life. He smiled at the though of her, and at the thought of them together.

He quickly grabbed the scroll and rolled it up, placing it in a small knapsack at his hip. The flare in his hand suddenly began to flicker as the chemical reaction inside of the plastic tube started to ware out. He quickly began back toward the entrance, the flare burning out only feet before he reached it.

Lara heard his steps, and quickly dropped her arm into the ancient tunnel. She felt a hand grip her own, and she quickly pulled her weight upward, helping Kurtis out of the darkness. She watched with intent as he brought himself to the marble edge, and climbed out. He came to her, the slight edges of an ancient scroll showing through the creases of his knapsack.

Lara smiled.

**A/N: Opposite of before, those 2 are probably my favorite chapters, but anyway, trying to finish quick so I can start on Advent Tension and then on the sequel to this one!**


	23. Reconsideration

Chapter 23

"They're leaving the cathedral." Mariana spoke into the cellphone at her ear as she eagerly watched Kurtis and Lara pace down the stone stairway of the Samandira Cathedral of Constantine from her hidden position in the black BMW. "Apparently he's past the second test."

The silenced voice turned to anger. "And apparently your wraiths have failed once again!"

"Yes." Mariana spoke lowly, hiding her aggravation with shame. "Apparently they have."

"We don't have time for failure!" The darkened voice cried, forcing Mariana to close her eyes out of fear. The rage calmed as fast as it had arrived. "He doesn't know about the cavern in Silivri, does he?"

"No sir, he doesn't." Mariana obediently answered.

"Make sure it stays that way." the Master spoke with agitation before pausing with thought. "Perhaps we have been taking the wrong approach with this Mr. Trent. Killing him has proved too difficult, and my mind as been pondering uses for the Vial."

"Sir?" Mariana asked, confused by his words. "I thought you wanted the Vial kept from everyone."

"I did."

"And that has changed because?"

"Because I have considered new boundaries." he explained. "Just think of what could occur if I was to feed the blood of Augustine into a Nephilim, think of the power I could gain."

"But the Vial cannot be retrieved without Kurtis." Mariana returned.

The Master smiled with evil laughter. "Exactly." he paused, letting the words sink in, sensing the surprise within Mariana's silence. "Follow them. Find the next scroll before they do, and_ seize_ Kurtis Trent." the voice paused, building fear in the demon it was directed to. "I want the Vial as soon as possible. Another failure will not be tolerated."

"And what of Miss Croft?" Mariana questioned with anger. "Do you need her alive as well?"

"I won't be that cruel." The Master spoke coldly. "I know of your longing to kill her, and I will allow it."

Mariana evilly smiled.

"But before you do," the Master continued, "bring her to me." he paused. "You say that her and Kurtis care for one another, and what better way to get to Mr. Trent than by taking the person he loves." he could sense Mariana's smile throughout the phone. "I know your evil ways," the Master continued. "Think of something creative, something fun. Fuck with their minds, just get them _both_ here. Me and Miss Croft have some things to discuss."

"I've got the perfect thing."

"Good, see that it's done."

Silence prevailed as the phone was hung up. Mariana obeyed.

(-)

Feet fell swiftly upon the light concrete as Lara and Kurtis paced quickly through the outskirts of Samandira.

Lara fought to keep up with her companion's movements as he gradually pulled ahead of her, his face was stuck forward, his mind seeming to forget that she was even there.

Kurtis forced his foot hard into the thin sidewalk, bringing his body to a sudden halt.

Lara forced herself into an identical movement as he stood still before her.

Kurtis stared forward in silence on the abandoned backroad, the alley colored black by the darkest reaches of night. Contrary to his movement, his mind stirred rapidly, contemplating the events that had occurred at the cathedral several hours ago. He wanted to scream as he felt his jaw form outward, anger slowly rising within him. The Lux Veritatis had gone to far. He would rather be dead than burdened with the retrieval of the Vial, or being the prey of thousands of demons, hungry for his blood. They had already ruined his life enough, he couldn't stand watching the people he cared for being hurt anymore.

He wanted to leave, leave this place and never return._ "A life in seclusion would be better than this shit."_

The figure before him shifted her body and he directed his eyes toward her.

Lara stared at him, not understanding his silence. There was guilt in his eyes. He was blaming himself for the cathedral, blaming himself for what _could've _happened.

"What's wrong?" she asked him as he lowered his head. She slowly neared him and placed her hand upon his shoulder.

Kurtis shook his head before answering. He spoke softly with slight sadness in his voice. "I can't do this anymore."

"Kurtis don-"

"No." he ended her statement before an argument arose. "I have asked so much from you, and taken it all. It's my fault that you've had to go through all this, and now-" he paused as he stared at her gaping eyes. "-I almost got you killed."

"Wrong." Lara corrected his statement. "_I_ almost got myself killed. I willingly stepped in front of you and put myself in danger." Her words stopped as she moved away and forcefully leaned against a nearby wall. "I wanted to protect you, and I would do it again." she smiled. "Magic bullets or not."

"Why?" Kurtis asked confused. "I've done and caused so many horrible things. Why save me?"

"Good Question." Lara stated with a smile, mocking his repetitive response. He didn't return it, so she removed hers. "I need you, because you can help me." Lara lowly stated as she fixed her eyes upon him. "I want Mariana."

"Also my fault." Kurtis stared at her once again. "Anything else?" he asked with nervous curiousness. "Any other reason you might want me alive other than your revenge?"

Lara looked away, knowing the purpose of this newly formed topic. "I don't know." She answered, surprised by her reply as Kurtis stared at her with disappointment. Lara remembered their kiss earlier that afternoon. She felt herself smiling as the memory appeared.

"Actually," she started again before Kurtis could reply. She grinned at him. "I think I could come up with a few reasons to keep you around."

Kurtis simply stared. He was to angry to smile, but Lara knew he was happy by the curvature of other placements upon his face.

"But right now," Lara began again at his silence, "Mariana is the only thing I want."

"Question." Kurtis looked to her with a sarcastic grin. His hope continued to wane despite Lara's positiveness. "What is the point of going after these wraiths, I mean after they're gone, there will still be one left." he paused. "The only way to truly be rid of Mariana, is after my child is born."

Lara closed her eyes and exhaled before angrily kicking a nearby trash can. "And she's the one I want." she thought to no avail. "Fuck. There has to be some way to kill her."

"There is," Kurtis cut in without expression. "but she isn't stupid enough to risk it."

"And how is that?" Lara asked in surprise, angry at him not giving her this information sooner.

"Mariana is in her demonic form all the time." he explained. "The blonde woman _is_ her demonic form. She's stronger than the rest this way, _and_ she blends in. The only way to kill her would be when she took on another human form."

"But shealready _has_ a human form."

Kurtis faked a smile once again "Exactly."

Lara's brows sank with confusion. She slightly shook her head. "What?

"She possesses both forms all the time. She is constantly a wraith and she is constantly human." Kurtis stated. "So she can't be killed."

Lara smiled, though hope was gone from her mind. "But she _can_ take on another form."

"Yeah, but it isn't that simple." He explained. "She doesn't have to stay in her host like the other wraiths. She could leave one at any moment"

Lara spoke to herself as she began to pace, her mind was confused yet rapidly informing her of ideas. "So she can abandon her host as well, making her a harder target."

Kurtis stared at Lara, she was in her own world, pondering ideas. He spoke loudly to gain her attention."Yeah, but that isn't a good thing. The host still dies after she leaves their body, even if they aren't physically injured."

Lara's heart sank. "God." she spoke lightly before another idea arose. "Well what about your little psychic tattoo?"

Kurtis stared at her with surprise. That thought hadn't occurred to him. Lara Croft had done it again, she had come up with another way to save his ass. He fought back a smile "I don't know." he stated truthfully. "It might would hurt her, hell, it may even kill her, or it may do absolutely nothing."

Lara smiled. "Well we'll just have to find out." she leaned to him and put her features closely to his face. "And being that I don't have a little psychic tattoo." She forcefully grabbed him at the words. "You're coming with me." Lara smiled as she pulled him toward her. Their lips met, and she kissed him once again.

**A/N: The chapters throughout this part are much shorter than the rest, but I guess that's a good thing, seeing a short chapter is relaxing sometimes.**


	24. Constantine

Chapter 24

Lara stared at the mystical scroll in silence as the newly rented Peugeot moved quickly through the vast wilderness of Turkey, patiently waiting for her and Kurtis to guide it toward their next destination.

Her words spoke loudly, repeating the sentences that graced the ancient paper, repeating the sentences that she had been constantly speaking for the last half hour. "Death can leave you mourning, but can lead you closer to your goals. For the death of the King meant damnation for all, but the infinite revival of the faith."

"I still don't understand it." Kurtis stated as he steered the small vehicle into a right corner. "No matter how many times you read."

"Then you're not listening." Lara returned, her eyes still fixed upon the newly retrieved scroll.

"So _you_ understand it?" He asked with sarcasm.

Lara playfully turned to him with a smirk. "I shouldn't have to. It's your responsibility, not mine."

Kurtis returned her sarcastic humor. "That's what I thought."

"The death of the King." She spoke to herself with question. "_Death_" she repeated, running the word through her mind as she looked back to Kurtis. "That word must have some significance or else they wouldn't have mentioned it more than once."

"But it's in different perspectives." Kurtis explained as he quoted the scripture. "'Death _can leave_' is in future tense, and 'death _meant_' is in the past. So they really have nothing in common."

As Kurtis ended his sentence, silence prevailed. He looked to Lara to find the familiar expression, her eyes stared forward, spastically moving back and forth as her mind raced with unknown thoughts.

Kurtis smiled. "You know something, don't you?"

"The King." Lara spoke as she turned to him, unfazed by his previous statement. "It says, when _the King _died, damnation spread." She paused. "So _who_ was the King."

Kurtis smirked with confusion. "Who, or _what_?"

"No. It isn't like that." Lara stated with enthusiasm, though she didn't entirely understand. "I don't think it's a metaphor like before. It means a physical person."

Kurtis shook his head unknowingly. "There were a lot of kings in the Byzantine Empire."

"I know that, but who would've been considered the most important?"

"Constantine." Kurtis simply stated. "It could mean Augustine, but he was never an actual king."

"Then it's Constantine." Lara stated before shaking her head. That was common sense. It couldn't be that easy.

A silence fell from confusion, before Kurtis spoke again. "Then what did it mean by death? Do I have to kill someone, or-"

"The scrolls don't tell you what to do, but where to go." Lara corrected his statement. She shifted toward him as to explain her notions further. "Remember the scroll at your home, it lead you to Samandira, but mentioned nothing about needing faith."

Kurtis expression conformed with disarray. "So _where_ can I find death?"

Lara stared forward once again at the conformity of his words. The answer was there, waiting for her to uncover-

Her mind found it. "A tomb."

"What?" Kurtis asked at the quietness of her words.

"A tomb, a graveyard." Lara repeated the words. She smiled with assurance in herself. "Constantine's body was never found, but there was a rumor that he was killed and buried in Peribleptos."

"That's not far from Cerkezcoy." Kurtis stated in return. "There is a monument their to honor his death. It serves as his honorary grave site."

Lara nodded her head with surety. "How far is that from here?"

Kurtis paused with thought. "About 250 miles tops, but the place is packed with tourists during the day."

"Fuck." Lara stated at his words. She stared at the digital clock that caressed the rented vehicle's dashboard. "It's already after midnight." she paused thinking and calculating in her mind. "We might can get their before dawn if we drive through the night. We need to be their before people start to show up, probably around 5:00am."

Kurtis looked at her before smiling and putting his hand forcefully on the gearshift. "Better hurry then."

Lara felt her head violently push into the head rest as the cars speed dramatically accelerated forward, turning with a road sign labeled Cerkezcoy.

**A/N: Wow, this is the first chapter I've actually been impressed with writing wise. See, told you the short ones were good. ;)**


	25. Cemetery Infiltration

Chapter 25

Lara felt her body pull forcefully forward before it slammed into her seat once again as the vehicle suddenly came to a halt. Her lungs worked spastically with fearful surprise as her eyes blinked wildly out of confusion. Her jaw was down, revealing a stunned expression as she slowly turned to Kurtis, not believing the rate of speed they had reached while traveling to their current location.

She had never been terrified in a vehicle before, another _first_ that Kurtis Trent had given her.

He stared at the digital clock, directing Lara's eyes away from him. It was 3:00am, two hours earlier than their expected arrival.

"Early enough?" Kurtis asked with prideful sarcasm.

Lara simply nodded her head and quickly looked at her surroundings, trying to forget the 90mph turns of her previous ride.

She stared at a sign 100 yards away written in the city-state's native tongue. "Cerkezcoy Private Cemetery." Then subtitled by, "Constantine the Great Memorial. Tours- 6:am to 7pm."

Lara smiled as she quickly left the car and grabbed her imported bag from the back seat. She threw it upon the soft ground and opened it as Kurtis appeared at her side.

Kurtis stared with confusion and slight fear as Lara quickly sorted through the contents of the bag.

He watched her place a shoulder holster over her neck, and fill its placements with a set of fully automatics, considered illegal in this part of the world. She retrieved an assault shotgun from the pack and hooked it to her back using the straps of her backpack. She hid a knife within the leather side-straps of her right black boot, then finally reloaded the ammunition in her trademark 9mms, still strapped to her thighs. She grabbed a flashlight from the bag to complete the militaristic design.

Lara looked to Kurtis and as he held a startled look, much like hers had been in the car earlier. "Would you like anything?" Lara asked as she kicked open the bag further, revealing its remaining contents.

Kurtis stared at the weapons before him, another set of uzis and a sawed-off, plus a large arrangement of smaller weapons, knives and grenades.. He casually turned down her offer, either not wanting to use the assortment of remaining weapons, or simply not knowing how to.

Lara shrugged her shoulders before tossing the bag back into the car and walking past him, eyes locked forward. "Let's go."

Kurtis took that moment to reload his own weapon, Lara's apparent assumptions of danger causing fear to enter his mind.

He quickly followed her to the cemetery's gates and stared at their elegance, contemplating his route through them. They were tall, constructed of periodically placed cement columns that rose well over fifteen feet, and were decorated with carvings of angels and greeters of death. Between the placements, the traditional horror-movie-look was present, constructed of black iron bars spaced evenly, but too close to squeeze through.

The iron structures created the cemetery's gates, held together tightly by a thick steel chain, which was finally adorned with a large pad lock.

Kurtis kept a sharp eye on the wilderness that stood all around them, wrapping around the graveyard, creating a second gate to protect the holy place. The trees seemed alive as a slight breeze carried their limbs into an elegant dance. Their shadows created a blanket of death, darkening the night and making their enemies harder to see.

The cemetery was literally abandoned at that time, giving the wilderness in which it resided an even eerier feel.

Lara quickly clicked on the flashlight, and shown it upon the lock that waited before them. She held the light in place with her mouth, and used her two hands to vigorously tug on the placement to no avail.

She considered her guns to blow the lock out of place, but decided against it, being that the shot would've been heard throughout a small town that resided less than a mile away. She quickly retrieved the six inch, razor edged knife from her boot and dug its tip into the lock's opening.

Kurtis stared into the nearby forest as an unknown and frightened feeling entered his stomach. It was a noise, a sound of some kind within the wilderness that spawned his timidness. Something was watchin-

Kurtis jumped out of surprise as the words "Dammit." sounded loudly behind him. He quickly spun, expecting to see Lara, tackled to the ground by a beast of some kind. She instead, was searching impatiently upon the ground for the flashlight which had just fallen from her mouth.

She angrily retrieved it and shone its light back upon the lock, forcefully shoving the knife into the keyhole once again as Kurtis appeared beside her.

He held a fragile smile as he watched her fight to open the lock with frustration. "You know," he began, knowing his powers could open the gate easily. "I could just-"

"Shutup." Lara cut him off with slight fret, though a smile still appeared across her lips. "I'm going to open this damn lock on my own, even if it takes-" Lara shoved the knife into an upward motion and a loud noise followed. The lock stood open, and she turned to Kurtis with assurance in herself."-all damn night."

Kurtis watched with a grin as she forcefully shoved the knife back into her boot. He started toward her, astonished that such an amazing person could actually be helping him.

Kurtis was forced to stop as the distant noise suddenly came to his attention once again. It was within the nearby forest to their left, a slight disturbance, barely loud enough to hear, but nevertheless there. It was a bristling sound, the sound of feet upon fallen leaves, crushing their dead forms, and making the culprit's presence known. Whoever it was, they weren't very smart for giving away their position, or either they didn't care.

"Do you hear something?" Lara asked as she stared into the wilderness, shifting her eyes to the subject of his gaze.

Kurtis felt her hand upon his shoulder and turned to her, frustration in his eyes as he shook his head. "Probably just the next test."

"Then we'd better hurry." Lara stated as she forcefully brought her foot into the air and shoved it into the cemetery's gates, leaving them gaped open, and throwing the steel chain to the ground. "We need to have a better defensive position before confronting whatever your_ test_ it."

Kurtis closely followed as Lara made her way into the desolate burial grounds. The space around them instantly filled with cement and stone, raising high above them, anywhere from ten to fifteen feet into the sky, and none lesser. All the gravestones held a commanding presence, causing the eyes to lose focus, unsure which placement to gaze upon first, the modern ones with their new carvings and statements of the people that occupied the earth below, or the ancient ones offering mystery within their bare facing, all scripture of their occupants torn away by wind and erosion. Large mausoleums also appeared periodically throughout the cemetery, some larger than a small house that would've been well suited for a moderately sized family. The structure's architecture was constructed so beautifully for such a horrid occasion.

Lara, though overwhelmed by the history that appeared all around, held her hands firmly around the pistols at her thighs as she read the remaining scriptures upon the decaying stones, ready for anything.

Kurtis felt less intrigued by the ancient gravestones, and timidly scanned the area that loomed behind them, ready as well.

The graveyard was smaller than one might have expected. Though it curved over the horizon and continued on for several acres, it was nothing in comparison to the militaristic cemeteries that had been scattered all over the world, but nevertheless was impressive.

"Where is Constantine's memorial?" Lara asked as she slowly continued forward, carefully padding her footfalls within the dew covered grass of morning.

"It's a tall building in the center of the grounds." Kurtis explained as he pointed to a nearby hilltop. "We should be able to see it when we're over that rise."

Lara's pace slightly quickened with anxiousness, and she held her hands firmly beside her holsters as they made their way up the slightly steep incline. Her eyes moved spastically throughout her surroundings, studying every tombstone, waiting for a threat of some kind to spring from behind each one.

The crest of the hill became closer as the companions continued their accent, until it finally fell away, and the heart of the burial grounds appeared before them. A huge depression, almost crater-like, graced the center of the cemetery. It was a perfect bowl shape, and in its center, rising above all of the intricate gravestones, was a large marble building, lined with ancient tablets, used to state its purpose. The Constantine Memorial was much larger than the other mausoleums in the graveyard. Its domed ceiling was colored gold, and shone brightly with reflections of the moonlight. The structure itself was squared, with the carvings of saints holding position in each of its sides, placed randomly to make room for the building's entryway.

Lara stared at the bronze doors with confusion, their hinges curved outward, making them gape open and greet the companions inside. She turned to Kurtis with disarray at the sight of the opened entrance to the memorial. "The doors are open."

Kurtis stared at the large building with a baffled expression. The doors would never have been opened in the middle of the night, unless it were being robbed, but the cemetery's gates had been tightly locked. There was something going on, something dealing with _him_. "But what about the test?" Kurtis asked with confusion. "The doors shouldn't be opened. I haven't done anything yet."

"Maybe you have." Lara smiled as she turned to him. "Not all noble traits come in physical form."

Kurtis was silent at her words, unsure of there meaning, yet he understood them perfectly. He didn't fully believe them however. He had a strange feeling about the ancient monument.

He saw Lara start her decent toward the towering building, and quickly grabbed her arm before she could step further. "Maybe we should wait until daylight." he told her, feeling that something was wrong. "It'll be safer that way."

Lara stared at him with arched brows, "What do you mean?"

"My last two tests nearly got us killed." He explained. "I really don't feel like getting snuck up on in the dark. We'd be better off-"

Kurtis suddenly felt his body being jerked to the ground.

Lara gripped her hand tightly around his collar as she stared forward in a crouched position. Her instant response to get out of sight had kicked in from a disturbance of some kind. She was watching their path from the gate with timid eyes. Something was there.

Kurtis stared at her unwavering gaze. "What do you see?"

"Movement." She simply stated. "By the main gate." Her eyes turned wide as the _movement_ came into focus. She sighed as the sight of their enemy appeared before her, their demonic human forms leering anxiously around the cemetery's entrance. She turned back to Kurtis with disbelief and anxiety. "We should've kept a better eye on our backside."

Kurtis looked forward with confusion before his jaw slightly fell. He watched with fear as over a dozen wraiths started into the graveyard, their human eyes scanning anxiously through its space, waiting greedily to find Kurtis Trent and seal his fate. "How could they have followed us?" he asked with confusion. "I killed them all at the cathedral."

"They're not the same." Lara answered, still staring at the creatures that searched below.

"But they'd have to be." Kurtis returned, his voice filling with fear and disarray. "No one else would've known we were comi-"

"Shh!" Lara quieted him as her eyes met one of the demonic enemies, a familiar form with its blonde hair and leather suit. _This _figure had brought the wraiths to them. Lara clenched her fist at the vision. She would enact her revenge tonight. "I think I know how they followed us." She turned to Kurtis with a fake grin. "Your friend is here."

Kurtis looked to the gates at her words before crouching further to the ground with fear at the sight of Mariana. "Fuck!" He yelled with a whispered tone, not wanting his voice to carry. He shook his head with worry. 'We can't do this. It's to dangerous. Not with Mariana."

"Come on Kurtis." Lara returned with a smile. "After some of the things I've seen you do, this should be simple." She paused as she glanced back at the opened doors of the Constantine Memorial, her expression changing to concern. "Other than that, the next scroll is already free for us to take. If we don't get it first, the wraiths will have it, and then they'll have the Vial." She stared at Kurtis with agitated eyes, slightly angered by his hesitance. "We have to do something _now _or it will all be over, no matter how dangerous it is."

Kurtis looked deep at Lara, disbelieving of her determination. She was doing all of this for him, doing all of this after everything that had happened to her. He felt selfish at that moment, and sighed at the realization of her words. They _did _have to act now, before the wraiths could take things any further. He nodded his head as Lara stared at him. She smiled within though she didn't show it; her impatience had covered it up.

Lara was silent as she studied her surroundings, planning a defense against the demonic humans. She watched the wraiths, walking with slight hesitance toward the hill's crest. She smiled at their fear. They must have seen Kurtis's destruction in Samandira.

Lara cautiously stood and directed Kurtis toward her. They quickly fled to their right, and hid in the large shadow of a tall mausoleum. Lara slowly peered around the building's side, watching the wraiths as they slowly made their advance. There were three main groups of the creatures, at least four of them in each.

One of the groups was nearer to their position, and the others followed behind, slightly distanced apart. She looked to Kurtis and softly whispered her plan.

"Stay here." she instructed him. "The wraiths will have to pass through these shadows to get to the monument, and when the first group does, take them out."

Kurtis held a worried expression as he listened. She hadn't mentioned staying with him. "What about you?"

"I'm going to circle to the right." she explained. "I'll take the last group out from behind. Then we can advance on the center group together."

Kurtis thought a moment before shaking his head with doubt.

Lara sighed with impatience. "Listen." She grabbed his shoulders, trying to convince him. "This is the only way to kill them. If we take them out a little at a time then-"

"What about Mariana?" Kurtis cut her off. He stared at Lara's eyes, instant hate filling them, hate toward the bitch who had ruined her life just as the same demon had ruined his. He knew her thoughts. She was going after her, she was going after Mariana. Kurtis shook his head and grabbed her, trying to erase the thoughts from her mind. "I know you want her Lara, but it isn't gonna turn out the way you want it to."

Lara stared at him, the words slightly sinking into her mind. She had never wanted anything more than to see the blood of Mariana covering her hands, but Kurtis was right. Her hopes would never come true. It would turn out opposite, _her_ blood upon the hands of Mariana. Lara closed her eyes, forcing different words to come, giving up on herself and her revenge. "Avoid her."

Kurtis sighed with relief at Lara's words.

"If she wants you," Lara continued, slightly fretted, "she'll go after you. Then I'll take out the remaining wraiths once she's occupied."

"So I"m the bait?" Kurtis stated with a smile.

"Is their another position that you would prefer?" Lara returned with sarcasm.

Kurtis grinned jokingly. "I could think of a few."

Lara returned his smile and raised her brows with a teasing fashion before starting away from him and heading toward the far end of the mausoleum. She turned to him before beginning her pursuit toward the wraith's left flank. "Remember," she whispered, "kill them quickly and quietly. Do it in the shadows." she smiled with excitement that Kurtis couldn't comprehend. "We don't want them to know where we are."

Kurtis sighed with worry as Lara vanished from his sight, disappearing around the building's corner. He quickly positioned himself to the mausoleums edge, waiting for the wraiths to circle its side and meet him, waiting to attack. He closed his eyes to rid himself of horrid thoughts, thoughts of Lara being killed as she snuck around the cemetery trying to fulfill _his_ destiny. He forced the images away, knowing that she would never have thought such things about him.

Kurtis suddenly straightened himself against the marble wall as a faint noise sounded on the mausoleums side, footsteps slowly growing louder, coming closer toward him. He gripped his churigai tightly between his fingers, ready to face the demons that were slowly advancing on his position.


	26. Collateral

Chapter 26

Lara rarely wavered as she quickly made her way back through the invaded cemetery, sprinting silently from mausoleum to mausoleum, hiding in the shadows, coming closer to the horrid wraiths with every step.

She was unaware of the steady smile that graced her features as she acted out her assault. The excitement of death and adventure causing the bizarre habit to arise.

She momentarily crouched behind a smaller monument before rapidly diving for the cover of a larger one. She was gradually making her way to the demon's rear, preparing herself for their death, preparing herself to kill.

She paused and nervously moistened her lips as the sound of footfalls fell on the opposite side of the mausoleum that she now used as a temporary shield from sight. She slowed her breaths as the noise grew louder, slowly coming toward the building's edge, ready to appear around its side and meet her. Lara quickly retreated away from the building's corner, and circled around, carefully scaling her movements to hide them in the shadows.

She continued around the following edge, and then neared the final. She carefully flattened her body against the wall as she slowly continued to the building's corner, ready to meet the wraiths on its side.

Her head turned the corner, followed by her upper chest and torso as she slightly leaned around the bend. She quickly pulled herself away, remaining in view for barely a instant. She had used the second to see the demons that awaited her. There were four, their backs turned, holding their attention on the cemetery's hilltop.

Lara held her breath as she silently turned the mausoleum's final corner. The wraiths now stood before her, their unknowing forms greeting her toward them. Her feet fell swiftly as she neared the first. She took note of the automatic assault weapon draped around its shoulder. _"Better be extra careful."_

The essence of death filled the air as Lara slowly stood, her height meeting the possessed man before her's. She was ready.

A grin stretched across her features before she thrust her hands forward.

Her fingertips met the structure of the wraith's jaw, and she violently jerked it to the side, a silent death from the instant rupture of the brain from the spinal cord.

She wasted no time as she rushed toward the next demon in the group. In a single movement she stripped the knife from her boot and thrust it into the demon's lower back. She covered the creature's mouth out of habit, though she knew that no noise would've followed the act had she not.

She recovered her knife and slightly gasped as the other wraiths before her began to turn toward the slight noise that her destruction had caused. She rushed forward, slitting the throat of the closest wraith before his body completed its turn. The final creature however, had finished his, and now stared at Lara as he hurriedly raised his weapon.

Lara rushed to the creature's side and powerfully brought her foot to its chest. The wraiths body fell into the mausoleum's wall before it recovered itself and began toward her once again.

Lara used his force against him as she shoved the palm of her hand into the man's nose, breaking it instantly and sending the fractured elements of bone into his brain.

Lara moved away quickly as the creature fell, knowing it was dead. She hurriedly continued her assault through the shadows, making her way to the center group of wraiths, waiting to meet Kurtis, and take them out.

(-)

Kurtis waited with anxiety as a shadow stretched around the nearby corner of the building he rested upon. The shadow grew bigger as its owner came closer. Kurtis gripped the churigai tighter and turned it to the side, preparing for the creatures that waited nearby. He stared at the mausoleum's edge, holding for the last possible moment, when the slight form of the wraith would appear around its edge. He was silent as he prevented his breaths, his eyes never wavering from the corner.

A figure appeared.

Kurtis quickly threw his weapon forward as the features of a man shown around the building's edge. His timing was absolute, slitting the demon's throat immediately after it had appeared. He watched as another of the creatures came into view. The demon growled with anger before instantly falling to the ground, the returning churigai now stuck into the back of its head.

Kurtis grabbed the weapon as he rushed toward the building's edge, wanting to meet the remaining wraiths while they were surprised. The demons apparently didn't have the ability to be taken off guard however, as two more of the vile creatures appeared and rushed toward him. Kurtis quickly leveled his arm to the nearest demon and ran toward it. The form of his limb met the creature's chest, sending it to the ground.

Kurtis instantly grabbed the remaining wraith's arm before it could react, and flipped the creature over his shoulder, its back finally meeting the ground. He held its wrist as it stared up at him. Kurtis's face conformed with anger as he lifted his foot, and forcefully shoved it into the creatures throat.

He stared as the creature slowly gasped with hidden pain, its dying body trying to hold on. He smiled.

Kurtis quickly walked to the wraith that he had previously winded, and lifted his blade, ready to end its torture and its host's pain, ready to finish his job and get back to Lara, ready to-

Kurtis gasped as a coldness appeared on his neck, the coldness of metal, the coldness of a blade. He halted his movements as a smirking laugh sounded behind him, the feminine evil unmistakable.

"Hello Kurtis." Mariana spoke as she held her blackened sword to his neck. "Good to see you again."

(-)

Lara was patient as she stared at the remaining group of wraiths, anxiously waiting to see Kurtis's form appear over the hill where she had left him. She had been right about their offensive strategy, tackling part of the wraiths separately and then the largest group together. It had made things easier. For her at least.

Lara sighed with impatience as she stared. Kurtis never appeared. She made herself wait several minutes, considering that it would've taken him longer to destroy the wraiths. She remained alone as he never came into view.

She admitted her worry and knew that something must have happened. _"No."_ she told herself. _"He's a capable man. He doesn't need me to help him with everything he does."_ A silence entered her thoughts with contemplation and realization. _"I shouldn't have left him."_

Lara quickly flattened herself to the ground as a sudden shout filled the space around her, conforming into words too familiar to her mind, her name. Someone was calling to her, seeking her out for an unknown reason. She sighed at the voice. It wasn't Kurtis.

"Lara Croft!"the angered voice shouted once again.

Lara stared at the hill she had descended from, toward the origin of the mysterious yet familiar voice, and the hiding place of Kurtis Trent. Her eyes were steady, waiting to see the person who was challenging her, knowing their appearance would prove less than friendly.

That person appeared.

She closed her eyes with an unbelieving mind before letting out a horrid sigh at the reality that stood before her. Mariana appeared around the far corner of a distant mausoleum.

Lara had not sighed out of fear of her enemy, but out of worry and regret, for Mariana was not alone. Standing before her with an angered yet swaggering face, Kurtis Trent waited, waited for the pistol that was leveled to his head to fire.

"Lara Croft!" The demon repeated, her eyes scanning timidly throughout her surroundings, searching for the subject of her calling. "I know you can see me, and I know you can see _him_." She forced the gun barrel deeper into her captive's skull at the words. He grimaced. "Come out and we can discuss me letting him go."

Lara was silent, obeying her instincts and making herself not care. She wanted to scream for her stupidity. She should've protected him, after all, wasn't he the most important thing she should've worried about?

Mariana searched the grounds again, searching for a movement of any kind, waiting for Lara Croft to show herself. She didn't

"That's alright. I understand." Mariana spoke aloud as Lara remained hidden. "What I don't understand is how you can let this man die from the simple act of not showing yourself."

Lara's heart stopped. Mariana was going to kill him. She couldn't allow it. She quickly lifted herself, ready to leave her place of hiding, ready to give herself up for Kurtis Trent.

She stopped as the words came again in another voice, a voice that made her smile despite her mental anguish.

"Don't listen to her." Kurtis shouted to Lara, trying to keep her from exposing herself. "She won't kill me. She needs me alive."

Lara sighed at his words and the simpleness of hearing his voice, her body fell back to the earth, returning to its hiding place, ignoring the threats that came from beyond.

"On the contrary," Mariana spoke to Kurtis, her words a hidden lie. "I _don't_ need you alive. I just need that pretty little brand on you shoulder." She paused with an evil smile. "Comes off easily with a knife."

Kurtis shook his head in response, knowing that Lara could see him. "It's a trick." he shouted to her. "The second you come out, the wraiths will kill you."

Mariana forcefully brought Kurtis's head closer to hers. "And why would I do that?" she spoke in a whisper, not wanting Lara to hear. "You always think that you're the most important aspect of this world, but _she's_ the one I need."

Kurtis's brows sank with confusion at he words. She wanted Lara, for what he wasn't sure, but he wouldn't allow it.

"Lara, listen to me." he screamed, pleading. "Forget about me, just get-" the words were ended with a sigh of pain as the demon's fingernails sunk into his back.

Lara felt air swiftly leave her lungs as his words were stopped. She quickly leaned herself from cover just enough to see him. His face was contorted with pain, and she wanted to cry. _"Forget him?"_ he mind questioned his previous statement. _"No." _she answered herself. _"Not even if he wasn't the savior of the world."_

Lara gripped the knife that remained clenched in her fist, so tightly that its metal surface met the blood of her hand. She wanted to lunge from her cover and shove it into the demon's chest that held Kurtis captive, threatening his life. She felt her hand start to shake with anger as the creature's voice started once again.

"I've been patient Lara." Mariana began. "Even after you have mutilated my body more than once during our meetings." She paused, her mind recalling all the new bullet holes that had graced her body since meeting Lara Croft. "But I've lost my patients, and quite frankly," she paused with a fake grin that instantly changed to anger, "I'm pissed. So I'll tell you what,"

Lara sat upright, making sure that she would hear the creature's words.

"I'll give you three seconds before I blow a hole in you boyfriend here's head." She paused, knowing that Lara had heard, curiously wondering what was going through her mind. "I think that's fair. After all of my men you've killed, I think one man's life will be getting off easy for you." Her voice grew louder at that moment, the words creating a countdown of unknowing death. "Three..."

Lara felt her heart pulsate rapidly as she closed her eyes, her thoughts focused on Kurtis and the gun barrel being held to the back of his head. She didn't believe Kurtis, didn't believe that Mariana wouldn't pull the trigger.

She had to save him, and help him break away from his captivity. Once he was dead, they would _all_ be dead. His life was important, not hers. _"No." _She argued with her statement. Even if she showed herself, what good would it do? The wraiths would still kill her, and then they would kill him. _"I couldn't live with myself if I didn't help him." _Her mind spoke, convincing her to step away from her shelter. She stopped as realization consumed her. "_What's a clear conscience if you're brain is splattered on the sidewalk?"_

"Two..."

"_Oh God."_ her mind screamed as panic entered her thoughts. She was afraid, not for herself but for Kurtis. She had to do something. She had to save him. Her mind never wavered as she thought, contemplating all the situations that could get her and Kurtis out of here alive. There were none. _"No. There is something, something you've missed."_

She ran her surroundings through her mind, desperately searching for the answer. Kurtis's life was in her hands now, everything depended on the next single second of her life. She sighed loudly as tears built within her eyes, adding to her frustration and the thought of Kurtis's demise.

"One..."


	27. Priority Shift

Chapter 27

Her fingernails met her teeth as she nervously gnawed at them. Her eyes moved spastically across the ground, causing her to loose focus and forget where she was. Her mind went blank before conforming into a make believe vision of life, created by her fear. Kurtis appeared before her as she stared. Her mind saw him, everything was perfect. _He was holding her in his arms, smiling about something with his unmistakable grin. Her expression mocked his as she laughed. _Lara stared as the vision grew clearer, giving life to the third figure in her dream. _A little girl with shockingly blue eyes was running to her. The child's hair was slightly lengthened, with a color identical to Kurtis's. _The girl turned and Lara gasped. The face was her own, a mix of the two, Lara Croft and Kurtis Trent. The girl was theirs, their daughter.

(-)

Kurtis held his head high as Mariana shouted off the final second, trying to fight the fear inside of him, fear that his assumptions were wrong and that Mariana _would_ pull the trigger. He didn't care about himself, but Lara was in danger, and he was pissed. He gripped the churigai at his waist tightly with anger, he was ready to-

Kurtis stopped his actions and his emotions of fear suddenly changed to confusion as the gun that was held firmly to the base of his skull, was repositioned away from it, and now rested gently upon his ear, no longer a threat but an element of trickery to fool Lara Croft. Mariana wasn't going to kill him, she was going to make it look like she had, knowing that Lara would appear afterward.

Kurtis tried to yell to Lara but was interrupted as the gun fired, the bullet passing mere centimeters from his head, and Mariana's foot met the center of his back, sending him rolling down the steep hill.

(-)

Lara's mind returned from her dreamful state as a gunshot sounded behind her. She felt her heart stop as her eyes opened. Her mind was still though her body instantly moved in response to the deadly sound. "NO!" Her voice screamed as she left the safety of the mausoleum and ran into the open, ready to see Kurtis's dead body upon the morning grass, and ready to kill Mariana.

She sighed with horror as his form left its captive's grasp and fell forward, rolling helplessly toward her. She felt her body shake at the realization of his death. It had happened again, just like all the others, Kurtis had died like them, all the other men who had dared to love her and made her feel wanted.

Mariana had taken everything from her, Winston, her home and life, and now Kurtis.

She fought to remain standing as the sorrow captured her. She turned it into rage, now holding her body strong. Such a thing would never happen again, especially to her. She would kill the wraiths no matter that it was impossible, and if she couldn't, she would die trying. She quickly lunged her hand to her chest, her fingertips meeting the grips of her Uzis.

Mariana smiled with victory as she stared at Lara Croft, helplessly watching as her companion _died_. Lara had appeared from behind a large mausoleum. Her face was conformed, almost turned evil with rage, a rage that made Mariana smile. Her plan had worked, and now she had them both, Kurtis Trent and Lara Croft.

The demon's victory was quickly ended however, as the unexpected occurred. She watched with surprise as Lara quickly wielded two sub-machine guns and leveled them, madly firing upon the demons that swarmed around her.

Mariana quickly fled from her position, not wanting to be caught within the gunfire. Her followers were not as lucky however, and over half of the possessed soldiers fell under the wrath of the machine guns. Mariana grimaced with hate. She had had enough of this bitch, no matter how much she needed her. She angrily ripped the large machine rifle from one of her nearby deceased colleagues, and hurriedly called for more of the demonic soldiers.

Lara spun her body wildly as more of the wraiths suddenly appeared from nowhere and flanked her position. Their unfeeling souls didn't care about death, only their mission, to kill her.

She watched without remorse as their bodies fell, bringing death to the demons and giving peace to their hosts. She didn't care anymore, didn't care that she may be killed during this maddening act. All that mattered was that Kurtis was dead, the wraiths were dying, and that Mariana would soon share their fate.

Lara cursed with anger as the force within her hands suddenly halted, and the automatics' empty clips of ammunition fell to the ground, She forcefully threw the useless guns away, and equipped the shotgun from its position on her back.

She rushed forward and aimed at the few retreating wraiths that remained, before immediately halting her offense. The corner of her eyes had met a movement not far from her position, in a place where no movements of any kind should've appeared. She slowly turned and her eyes met the placement, the spot where Kurtis's body lay. She stared at his limp form with confusion, and gasped as his position changed, and he slowly rolled to his back.

Lara couldn't move as she stared at him, her body was frozen with false hope and disbelief. "Kurtis?" she spoke lightly and with hesitance, unsure about the vision before her; rather a miracle had occurred or if her eyes were playing tricks upon her vulnerable mind. She didn't understand her feelings of hope over Kurtis's fate. She wanted him to move, prove that he was alive even after the fatal gunshot. But what for? The fact that if he died, everyone would soon join him, or was it something more? Something more personal? She didn't have time to answer it, though deep inside, she already knew.

Lara felt her heart spur as Kurtis's hand suddenly lifted to his forehead. "Kurtis!" she screamed as she ran to him. Her knees met the ground beside him as she leaned over his form. She searched his body for the bullet would, thinking by his condition that the shot hadn't been fatal, a chance so unlikely that even she believed it too impossible. The assumption changed as she studied him. Their was no wound, only blood upon him where his head had connected hard with a tombstone while falling down the hill.

Lara was silent as she stared at him, her mind too confused to send the unbelieving words to her vocal cords. Her body was still, matching her eyes, other than the unexpected tears that ran down her cheeks. She wiped them away, unsure why they had appeared.

The vision was real, the disbelieving vision of Kurtis alive and breathing before her.

"You're-" Lara spoke, unable to finish the statement out of hidden happiness, disguised by shock, "You're-"

"Yeah." Kurtis answered her unfinished question, knowing it was of his liveliness.

Lara shook her head with confusion, "How?"

"It was a trick." he spoke as he wiped the streaming blood from his temple. "To get you to come out." Kurtis's tone suddenly changed as he stared at her. Her face was lined with confusion and sadness, her brows were inset as tears poured from her slightly flustered eyes, a reaction he hadn't expected. Sadness from Lara Croft? Over him? He wanted to smile, but couldn't as her sorrow influenced his own emotions. "Lara,-"

His words were stopped as he suddenly felt her against him, her arms were wrapped around his neck as she pulled him closer, holding him tightly, realizing that she could've lost him, and feeling differently about him than she ever had before, her raged actions shining light upon her true emotions.

"Kurtis," she spoke softly as she gripped him tighter. All her emotions had gathered together when she had thought he was dead, all her thoughts of hatred toward him, fear of their intimacy, and love for who he really was. The latter had won over all of them, and during her angered assault upon the demons who had taken him from her, she had realized it. As she stared at his eyes she saw the little girl that had graced her previous vision, a foresight of what was to come perhaps. She smiled as she leaned toward him. "I lov-"

A perfect moment changed to one of unexpected death as Lara felt Kurtis forcefully pull her to the ground. Confusion entered her mind, but was ended as his act was quickly followed by the sound of machine gun fire, and bullets approaching swiftly from behind.

Kurtis held her tightly, covering her unprotected form as he quickly rolled to his side, carrying her with him. They continued moving together as they rolled down the hill, seeming as though they were enemies who's confrontation had been interrupted by the incline of their fighting ground as they rapidly changed positions, one on top, one on the bottom.

Lara felt her body suddenly stop in the cover of a small mausoleum, as the slight dizziness of her fall began to take effect. She shook her head to ease it away, as the threatening shouts of Mariana sounded behind them.

"Why is she shooting at us?" Kurtis questioned aloud, knowing that the head demon needed him, and Lara, for some reason, alive. He received no answer as Lara sat her back against the mausoleum's cement base. She angrily reloaded her shotgun, slung it back over her shoulder, and grabbed her custom pistols. "I'm gonna kill that fucking bitch!"

Lara swiftly rolled from her position behind the tomb, and blindly shot in the direction of the previous gunfire. Her bullets grazed the sides of stone structure's as the enemy quickly retreated to their protected posts. She returned to her cover as swiftly as she had left it, missing her mark.

She repeated the assault several times before realizing her disadvantage of lower ground. She shook her head, knowing that the enemy was still alive, and that she was running low on ammo. She turned to Kurtis, angered at their situation, knowing that is was worse than either of them thought.

"Before you argue with me, hear me out." She spoke softly, but loud enough to be heard over the gunfire that spurred behind them. "Sooner or later, the wraiths are going to figure out that the next scroll is in the monument, and then they'll be closer to the Vial than we will. Us being held down here is just giving them more time to realize it. Since we can't kill Mariana, our best option is to get what we need, and get the hell out of here."

Kurtis looked at her with a worried glance, "What are you thinking?"

"If Mariana doesn't see you leave, she'll think you're still here." Lara explained as Kurtis shook his head with disagreement. "I want you to sneak away, and circle around to the monument. You'll have the scroll, and hopefully all of _this_ will be taken care of."

"I don't like it." Kurtis spoke. "It's too dangerous and you'll be left here by yourself-"

Lara's words cut him off with sarcasm, "I'm sorry, but between us, who got caught last time when they were left alone?" She stopped with the fake notion of thinking. "It wasn't me."

Kurtis couldn't help but smile at the comment. Lara didn't. All her sadness had disappeared, replaced with hatred and impatience.

"So if anyone should be worried about getting caught," Lara continued, "it's you."

His smile disappeared. "I've just got a feeling that-"

"Just Stop!" Lara yelled with anger. "Ever since the cathedral you think it's your priority to protect me and it's not!" She paused as she shook her head with frustration. "The Vial is what's important. I'm not!"

Kurtis stared at her with hurtful eyes, fixated on her beautiful features. "Not to me."

Lara was slightly taken aback at his words before the moment was interrupted by gunfire grazing the mausoleum behind them.

"Go!" she ordered before diving back into the open and firing upon the wraiths once again. She returned to her cover as familiar bullets lashed out at her, coming closer with each pull of the enemy's trigger.

Kurtis was gone.


	28. Stolen Love

Chapter 28

Kurtis cursed himself as he quickly darted through the graveyard, making his way to the crest of the hill, toward the Constantine Memorial. He had a bad feeling about this, about leaving Lara alone despite the fact the she _could_ take care of herself. Something was telling him to go back, but he couldn't. He knew that Lara's words had been correct. If he didn't get the scroll now, the wraiths would have it. It was only a matter of time.

Kurtis kept his figure in the shadows, hiding it from the frequent passing demon that would rush down the hill, searching for the cause of all the gunfire, seeming to appear from nowhere. There were so many of them, so many wraiths that were advancing on Lara's position. She would never be able to kill them all, not from lack of skill, but from lack of ammunition. He cringed at the sounds erupting from behind him, the enemy's machine rifles firing at a solitary target, possibly meeting their marks.

He listened for the sound of ease, the firing of the 9mm pistols, and occasionally the loudness of a shotgun. The sounds meant that Lara was still alive, still defending her position for him.

Kurtis pressed his back against a nearby tombstone as the sound of rapid footfalls passed beside him. He sighed with relief as the wraith continued down the hill, never knowing he was there.

Kurtis cursed himself. What was he doing? The more wraiths that advanced down the hill, meant the more enemies Lara would have to face.

Kurtis quickly left his position, searching for the wraith that had just ran by. He spotted the creature's back as he gripped his churigai and slung it forward.

The demon's host connected with the stiff earth of the cemetery as the blade pierced the base of its back. The ancient weapon left its placement as fast as it had been planted their, as Kurtis lifted his hand, bringing the blade back toward him, and then slinging it onto his belt.

He quickened his pace as he headed back up the hill, wanting to get back to Lara as quickly as possible. The crest was their, he passed it. Now it would be easy to-

Kurtis felt his jaw drop as he stared at the vision before him. His route to the Constantine Monument wasn't as he had hoped. The path wasn't clear, it was opposite. At least a dozen wraiths blocked his way, searching the grounds for something, something of importance. The scroll!

Kurtis quickly crouched behind one of the smaller gravestone as the creatures directed their eyes toward him. The silence that followed was a welcomed one. They hadn't seen him.

Kurtis cursed in a whispered voice as he shook his head. The sounds behind him had changed, and he rarely heard the fire of Lara's weapons. He had to hurry.

He exhaled deeply, readying himself for the battle that would follow. He gripped his blade in one hand and his pistol in the other as he dove from his cover, aiming his Boran X at the first wraith he saw.

(-)

Lara angrily slung her pistols back into her holsters, her last clip jammed into the left one. She retrieved her shotgun once again, and gasped loudly as a wraith appeared on the mausoleum roof above her, and quickly leaped down. Lara lifted the barrel to the figure and fired, sending the creature's body back atop the extravagant tomb.

She reloaded her shotgun, knowing that this would be the last time she could, her final ammunition being shoved into the chamber.

She held the weapon tightly to her chest as she pressed her back firmly against the wall behind her. She didn't have enough shells to advance on the wraiths any longer. They would have to come to her.

Her eyes timidly scanned the space around her, waiting for one of the demon's to appear beside her, waiting to greet the creature with a metalbarrel.

She stared at the hill to her left, wondering if Kurtis were still alive, and if he was, whether he already gotten the scroll and was making his way back to her, or whether he had retrieved the artifact and abandoned her.

She didn't want to think of such things, and forced herself not to. Her thoughts were interrupted as a figure appeared in the shadows beside her. Her hope that it was Kurtis faded as the form began to growl, flashing its blood stained teeth. Lara leveled her gun and fired.

(-)

Mariana stared at the mausoleum at the base of the hill, a person she hated more than any human she had ever seen, hiding behind it. Lara was in the company however, of someone else, someone she needed and wanted.

The demon cursed as another of her wraiths dashed around the building's corner, only to fly back from its position, a huge hole in the creature's chest. Her plan was being delayed. She wanted to take Kurtis _and_ Lara alive, but was _she_ really necessary? Kurtis was the one who would retrieve the Vial, not Lara. _"But the Master wants her."_ Mariana's reminded herself. _"He wants Lara Croft alive."_

The demon cursed loudly at the thoughts. Her Master would receive just that. He would receive the Vial, and Miss Cr-

Mariana stopped herself as a single gunshot sounded in the distance, behind the cemetery's crest, and was then followed by several more. The shots were familiar, fired by a gun that she knew very well, Kurtis's Boran X.

The demon smiled as she stared at the hiding place of her enemy, the hiding place of Lara Croft. "She's alone."

Mariana signaled her hands forward, directing the wraiths that surrounded her to take position around the mausoleum below them, and retrieve the woman who hid behind it.

(-)

Kurtis never wavered physically or mentally as he fired upon the wraiths that surrounded him. Seven of the creature's had already fallen to the power of the prototype bullets piercing through their bodies.

He quickly unleashed his churigai forward, rapidly disposing of four of the remaining creatures, before firing a single bullet through the final demon's head.

The creature collapsed as death consumed it, and Kurtis quickly rushed toward the monument that stood before him, its opened doors welcoming him to enter. His feet met the structure's marble stairs as he forced its door's open wider, and hurriedly entered the sacred place.

The marble and gold interior of the structure would've impressed anyone other than him. His mind was too eager to find the next step in his destiny to gawk over formal architecture, but more than that, he was too eager to get back to Lara.

His eyes rapidly scanned the space around him, searching for the object he needed though he wasn't sure where to look. The monument was large inside, so large that Kurtis new he wouldn't find the scroll in time to get back and help the woman who desperately waited for him at the cemetery's entrance.

"Fuck this." he spoke aloud, knowing that the threat to the scroll was now gone. He had killed all of the wraiths that may have found it, and there was no need to worry with it anymore. Lara was more important.

He quickly ran from the elegant building and his lungs tasted the stale air of the cemetery once again. He forced his tired legs forward, and back toward the opposite side of the hill. Kurtis felt himself gasp at a reality he hadn't noticed before. The distant gunfire had stopped.

(-)

Lara desperately whipped her shotgun forward, connecting it hard with one of the approaching wraiths' throats. She had run out of ammo over five minutes ago, and she could feel the muscle in her arms slowly giving way as she tried to break free from the wraiths approach. There were too many off them, almost double the amount she had seen enter the cemetery when she had been with Kurtis. Where had they all come from?

Lara fiercely slung the butt of her gun to the left, breaking a wraith's nose as she kicked another in its chest.

The creatures continued their advance, and Lara sighed out of fear as she felt her back touch the wall of the mausoleum. She was pinned down with nowhere to go. It was hopeless.

She desperately slung the weapon forward once again, but the force wasn't enough, and the wraiths continued toward her. She stared at the single demon that stood right in front of her, and watched as it slightly opened its mouth, flashing demonic teeth before letting out a monstrous growl.

Lara smiled out of fear as she watched it. It was over. She'd died for Kurtis Tre-

The wraiths had stopped.

Lara stared at them with confusion as the creatures slowly began to back away from her. There minds had completed the act simultaneously as if something were controlling them, telling them to back away and let her go free.

One fear was replaced by another as Lara spotted the cause of the wraith's sudden _generosity_. Mariana walked hastily through the band of demons, a crooked smile gracing her evil features.

Lara lifted the shotgun as the leader of the wraiths continued toward her. She leveled the weapon to the demon's head though she knew her ammunition was depleted. _"Hope for a miracle."_ she told herself as she pulled the trigger.

Silence followed. Lara fell with hopelessness, and Mariana smiled.

Lara was silent, and didn't move as the demon took the weapon from her hands. Mariana eyed the shotgun before nodding with approval of the weapon's craftsmanship. "Very nice." she stated as she turned back to Lara. "It will work just fine."

Lara watched as the weapon hurriedly sailed toward her face. An unbearable pain erupted within the side of her head, but quickly faded as darkness consumed her, and unconsciousness took her mind.

(-)

Kurtis breathed deeply as he ran up the steep incline. He pushed his tiredness aside, consumed with worry at what may have happened on the other side of the hill's crest. The ground slowly peeled away as he continued forward, rushing like he never had before. The earth turned to a darkened sky as he reached the highest point of the incline. He stared.

Emptiness and abandoned space met his eyes and Kurtis fought to remain standing. The wraiths were gone, the remaining being nothing but piles of dead flesh upon the dew-covered ground.

Nothing moved within the cemetery, and Kurtis realized then that Lara was gone as well, either taken by the wraiths, or as one of the dead bodies that lye before him.

His emotions were blank as he rushed down the hill, rapidly heading toward the mausoleum that had served as Lara's hiding place. He scanned the dead bodies as he approached, fearfully hoping that none of them belonged to her.

None of them did, and Kurtis sighed with relief as he hurriedly continued back toward the mausoleum. He prayed to a god, whom he didn't believe in, that she would be resting behind the building, not lifeless as the others were, but strong with her heart still beating.

His movements slowed as the building grew closer, his anxiety causing him to hesitate. He forced himself to continued around the side of the structure, forced himself to witness the truth of what had happened. He didn't breathe as he reached the other side of the mausoleum. His eyes met something he hadn't expected, nothing.

Kurtis shook his head at the empty space before him, confused at what he saw. He stopped as realization entered his mind. _"They've taken her."_

"No." Kurtis spoke softly as he left the building's side. He desperately called Lara's name throughout the cemetery, not caring if the enemy _were_ still around. Silence followed his shouts as he delivered them, giving proof to his assumptions. The wraiths_ had_ taken her.

Kurtis fell to his knees as the thought took him. He cursed himself for leaving her alone, and wanted to cry at the thought of what Mariana would do to her.

He felt himself jump as a loud noise sounded beside the mausoleum where Lara had been hiding. He anxiously began toward it, not granting hope that it was Lara to his thoughts, for fear of being disappointed.

He stared at the stone structure, his hand gripped firmly around his Boran X, unsure what was to come. The grip loosened as the vision became clear. The noise had been caused by the door of the mausoleum falling forward, and connecting hard with the ground.

He stared at the darkness that stood before him, the open tomb beckoning him to come forward for an unknown reason. He obeyed his instincts as he continued toward the mausoleum, its sides now desecrated by bullet holes.

His form was consumed by darkness as he entered the ancient resting place of some unknown human. He ignored the unbearable smell the tomb held as he walked deeper into the darkness.

Kurtis caught himself from falling forward as his form was met by a structure of some kind. He gasped with slight fear as a candle instantly caught aflame beside him, triggering from nothingness. An immense light flooded the room, despite the small size of the candle from which it emerged.

Kurtis stared at the flame with anxiety before turning back toward the structure he had run into. He gasped once more.

Kurtis stared at the podium with disbelief which immediately turned to anger. The image had met his eyes before, first in Utah, and then in Samandira, the image of an ancient scroll atop a cursed platform.

Kurtis shook his head as he stared at the rolled paper, realization entering his mind. The scroll had never been in the Constantine memorial, it had been here, waiting for centuries, waiting for him to finish his third test, the test of losing Lara Croft.

He angrily took the scroll from its placement atop the raised podium, and quickly opened it. He read the cursed message with a saddened yet enraged expression.

"_The third test of caring has been achieved. For no one can be the true savior without compassion for his fellow man._ _The faith is of great importance, but lacks in comparison to the true means behind the faith, its people."_

Kuris shook his head with hatred. His test had been of importance and caring, whether he chose to save a life, or to retrieve something that would have saved his own. He didn't understand. He hadn't saved a life, the wraiths had taken it away from him, they had taken _her_.

Kurtis wanted to scream with hatred toward the Lux Veritatis. They had ruined his life once again, to the point now that he could care less whether or not he found the vial. All he wanted was to find Lara. _"Fuck them."_

Kurtis angrily threw the scroll to the ground, not reading its statement of his next test, and not caring if he did. He kicked the lit candle to the ground, and watched without regret as the scroll turned to ashes before his eyes, consumed by the flames that devoured it. The fire spread quickly throughout the room, and Kurtis watched as it engulfed the rotten corpses that were placed throughout the mausoleum.

He was silent as he left the ancient building, and didn't look back as the entire tomb erupted in flames.

He made his way toward the cemetery's gates, and quickly walked through them, exiting this cursed place, and hoping he would never see it again. He stopped with slight surprise as several vehicles met his eyes, vehicles of the deceased wraiths, who no longer demanded the need of transportation. All of the assorted cars were black, their brands BMW, something easy to spot in such a minor country. That's how he would find them.

Kurtis quickly walked to one of the abandoned motorcycles that was parked beside a large tree. He angrily kicked away the bike's lower facing and redirected its wiring, making the need for an ignition key pointless. He slung himself onto the vehicle and quickly turned the throttle. He stopped, his eyes distracted by a bright object upon the dark ground beside his feet. He curiously directed his hands toward the object, picking it up. The figure was nothing more than a scrap of paper, but the words the paper held caused Kurtis to shake with anger.

"_You want her back, come to the Sinthium Warehouse in downtown Cerkezcoy tonight, not before 11pm, and no later than midnight."_

Kurtis threw the paper to the ground as he forcefully kicked away the motorcycle's kickstand. His teeth were clenched as he sped onto the dirt backroad, ready to find Lara, and ready to kill the bitch who had taken her.


	29. A Second Truth

Chapter 29

Darkness everywhere. Silence, other than the faint rasps of tired lungs, struggling for breath within an unconscious body. The form stirred as chills ran down its spine.

Lara felt her face upon a cold floor and a pain in her ankle from its uncomfortable position under her opposite knee. She grabbed the aching as her mind returned

The world went from a black slab to a blurry portrait as she opened her eyes. She forced her hand across them as her senses were greeted by a blinding brightness. She let out a sigh as the coldness returned, and she slowly arose to a stand.

Lara dropped her arm as her pupils adjusted to the now illuminated spotlight that hung above her. She was confused, but her tired mind kept her from pondering her whereabouts.

She studied the newly formed room; there was nothing. Dark concrete met her eyes as she stared. _"Where am I?"_

Lara gasped with shock and fear as her head was suddenly jerked backward. She quickly forced her arms behind her, ready to break free from her attacker's hold. Her hands were met by air, nothingness.

Lara tried to force herself around, trying to see the person behind her, violently jerking her hair and bending her neck. The motion stopped and Lara quickly turned. There was no one; the room was empty.

She backed away out of confusion, her eyes timidly scanning the room as her chest rose spastically from fearful breaths. Silence took the room again, building suspense and fear within the weary form that it held. She was motionless as she stared.

Air flew again from weary lungs as Lara felt her feet suddenly being forced backward as though someone had pulled them from under her.

She quickly raised her arms to shield her body as it connected hard with the stone floor.

Lara reached for one of her pistols as she reconstructed her elbows. Her hand met an empty holster.

She stared forward with confusion and quickly stood to her feet. Lara bent her knees slightly and lowered her body, entering a defensive stance, and preparing herself for another attack from the invisible force that was tormenting her body and mind.

Lara motions suddenly halted as a strange noise arose, the noise of amusement and trickery, the noise of laughter. Something had been playing with her mind, and more literally, her body. Another sound gave off behind her, and Lara stared.

She had just noticed the door that was set upon the room's largest wall. It's hinges were pressed forward as the placement stood open. The form of her tormenter's body filled the doorway, her mouth slightly opened, delivering the sounds of humor throughout the small room.

Lara stared, jaw out and nostrils flared, anger within her thoughts as she watched the newly present figure before her.

Mariana held the crooked smile that Lara recalled, and hated. The ancient demon slowly began to enter the room. She studied Lara's figure as she stopped "Hello Lara Croft." her stolen voice echoed throughout the confined space surrounding them. "For once I meet you without a gun barrel in my face."

Lara grimaced without a smile. "Proof that this meeting was not _my_ doing."

Mariana smiled at the words as she slowly began to circle her captive. "Despite my immense hate for you," she stated, holding the grin, "I feel more sorrow over your stupidity than anything else. Not trusting someone is different that not being able to tell when they are helping you."

Lara stared at her with confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"How many has it been?" Mariana asked as the smile disappeared, a serious expression appearing. "How many men have betrayed you in your life? How many men have told you they love you, only to spoil that love with lies and greed?" she paused. "How many men that you actually had feelings for?"

Lara was silent, unsure of the words her enemy spoke, her assumptions of their meaning making her nervous.

"Kurtis is incredibly hansom isn't he?" The demon asked with a sultry smile. "It makes him easier to trust."

The words were coming into focus, though still unclear. Mariana was trying to tell her something, something she didn't want to hear, something about Kurtis. "Don't think for a second that you can turn me against him. I know how you play with words. Kurtis has done nothing. He's the good guy for once."

Mariana paused and stared at the floor as she spoke, "Nephilims can be deceiving."

Lara felt her heart sink at the words. She quickly shook her head trying to throw them away. "Stop." she spoke softly, knowing of the demon's lust for trickery. She couldn't fool her. "He's not-"

"Oh think about it Lara!" Mariana cut her off, slightly frightening the fragile mind. "If you hadn't been gawking over him all this time, you would've seen who the _real _good guys are, and who has really been helping you...I have."

Lara shook her head with anger before releasing a sarcastic laugh. "Helping me? How the fuck is shooting at me and trying to kill me defined as 'helping'?"

"You were working with _him_." The demon spoke words that made no sense. "The man that the wraiths were created to destroy, the man who would spread evil throughout the world by bringing back the Nephilim. We thought you were helping him. In all regards you were just as bad as him-if not worse- in our minds."

Lara shook her head at the strange information that had suddenly invaded her thoughts. She forced it away "He isn't reviving the Nephilim!" Lara screamed with confusion. "It's a trick! You want me to believe you so I'll go against him! Fuck you!"

Mariana forced her impatience and anger aside as she stared at Lara. "Then explain his strange powers."

"He's a Lux Veritatis."

"And what about the tattoo?"

"It's the brand of his lineage."

"And the sudden desire he has to impregnate a woman and have a child?"

Lara was silent.

"Mr Lynch warned you, you warned yourself, and now _I_ am warning you. Kurtis Trent is not of the Lux Veritatis, but of the Nephili. The 'brand' upon his shoulder is not of his lineage, but of the same Nephilim heritage, and the only reason behind his ridiculous wanting of a child is so more of his evil can be spread." she paused staring at the pathetic creature before her, tears starting to plague its eyes. "You have seen all the signs, and yet your love for him still blinds you."

Lara stared at Mariana with hatred. "I do _not_ love him."

"Really?" The wraith asked with sarcasm. "Then why the tears? Why the many attempts to protect him? And why the constant rejection of the truth, of _his_ truth?"she paused with a smile as she slightly shook her head. "You fucked him didn't you?" she answered her own questions as Lara looked away. "Of coarse you did, I can still smell him on you." Mariana leaned toward her at the words as she bit her lower lip out of slight jealousy. "No wonder you can't accept the truth."

"Because it isn't the truth!" Lara stated as slight hope entered her mind, certain events making her know that Kurtis was who he had told her he was. "If Kurtis is a Nephilim, then why did he try to stop Eckhardt and the Cabal from awakening the Sleeper?"

"Who ever told you he was trying to stop them?" The evil smile came again. "He who revives the Sleeper will have power over it. Kurtis was trying to steal it."

"But the Vial-"

"The Vial was created by the Nephilim. All it is, is the dark angel's blood. It's just as Kurtis told you only on a different side." she interrupted Lara's statement. "He must feed it into a woman, which will in turn, create a Nephilim of the opposite sex, and then a child can be born. Not a elder, but a Nephilim."

Lara was in shock at the words. Kurtis _had_ told her such things. He had stated that the Lux Veritatis were descendants of the Nephilim, and that the Vial was the natural blood of the horrid creatures. _"No!"_ she told herself. There had to be an explanation.

Lara shook her head again, though the words had cut deeply into her hope. "What about Annaba?" she asked. "The Lux Veritatis stronghold had Kurtis's brand placed all over the walls."

"Ah yes." the demon spoke softly before coming closer to Lara. "That symbol has lost its powers over the years." she shook her head as though in sadness with turned to disgust of Lara's unknown arrogance. "Do you even know what the mark of the Nephilim stands for?"

Lara was silent, giving Mariana the proven assumption that she didn't.

"It _is _a brand as Kurtis told you, but is isn't to recognize a lineage, it's more of a curse." Mariana explained. "The angels who had betrayed god and were banished to the earth were given the brand as a reminder of their betrayal, and of the salvation they would never receive. God took their treachery as such a horrid doing, that the brand was passed on to the angel's children, marking the Nephilim for who they truly were, and making the world reject them."

Lara stared at Mariana as the words flowed, her jaw was lowered, realization of her partner's treachery making itself more evident.

"The Nephilim have been evil ever since." The demon continued. "They're trying to destroy a world that wouldn't accept them, and a god who condemned them when their ancestors were the true ones to blame." she caringly wiped a tear from Lara's features. She didn't resist. "The ancient Lux Veritatis would place the evil mark of the dark angels upon the walls of their fortresses to ward the creatures off. The symbol used to be such a horrid realization to the Nephilim that even _they_ could not look upon it, but now they have changed it to work to their benefit, and against ours."

"You mean the way it kills the wraiths." Lara spoke as the tears had stopped, their remnants tightening her face.

Mariana shook her head with agreement. "It's all becoming apparent now, isn't it? Kurtis has betrayed you just like all the others. You shouldn't blame yourself though. I also found myself falling for him at one time." she paused. "He used me as well."

Lara's mind had stalled as she stared into nothingness. Her sadness had turned to hatred as the words came into focus. It _was_ just like all the other times, all the times she would open up to a man just to see her heart get broken. It would never happen again.

She clenched her fist together as she looked to Mariana. "What are you going to do to him?"

"That's where you come in." Mariana spoke as she lowered herself to meet Lara's eyes. "He doesn't know about our little meeting, so he will still trust you after the fact." she paused, a grin across her lips. "I need you to get him to Silivri."

"What's in Silivri?."

"The Vial."

Lara felt herself gasp. "You knew were it was this entire time?"

"Ancient scriptures state that the Nephilim hid it their to pay homage to the first of their kind, at the sight where Lucifer himself fell from the sky. The ancient ruins of that event lye in Silivri. If we can destroy the Vial, then their will be no chance that the Nephilim can flourish once more."

Confusion entered Lara's mind, and slight disarray at Mariana's last statement. "If you knew it was there, why haven't you recovered it already?"

Mariana was hesitant with her response. Her mind was wavering, searching for an answer. "Only they who bear the mark of the Nephilim can enter the cavern in western Turkey. We need Kurtis there so we can get in."

Lara was suspicious as the demon spoke, but the thoughts changed as the wraith left the room and quickly returned, Lara's holsters and guns within her hands. If the demon-or whatever she was-would've been deceiving her, she never would've returned the weaponry. Lara stared at the guns that Mariana held in front of her. She slowly raised her hand, her fingertips gracing the barrels of her 9mms.

Lara quickly gripped the gun between her hands, and instantly turned the pistol toward the figure before her. She held it level to the wraith's chest.

Mariana didn't move. Her body and expressions were still, as if knowing that Lara wouldn't pull the trigger, knowing that she wanted to get back at Kurtis for the pain he had caused.

Lara wanted to squeeze her finger tightly against the pistol and blow a hold through the demon's chest, the creature who had impacted so much pain upon her life. Could someone so cruel actually be on the good side? Lara nodded to herself. Her past experiences had proven that question true. It was the men, it was _always_ the men. She had learned her lesson before, but once again, her lust had deceived her. _"Never again."_

Lara's grip loosened as she sighed, and lowered the gun from Mariana's chest, placing it within her holsters.

Mariana smiled. "Tell Kurtis the Vial's location, and get him there by tomorrow night. We'll be there waiting, and we'll have him trapped with nowhere to go." She paused. "I'll let _you_ do him in."

Lara watched as Mariana slowly began to leave the room. She quickly placed the remaining holsters and guns back onto her placements, and followed the demon out of the small concrete room. They had been in a warehouse of some kind; the neon lights visible through the building's windows proved that they were still in Cerkezcoy.

"I've set up a room for you not far from here, at a place called The Vivec Inn" Mariana spoke as she opened a large door out of the abandoned building. "Just so we can keep up with you."

Lara didn't respond as she walked past Mariana's form and into the darkness of night. She stopped her motion as the figure being her called her name, then followed it with an "I'm sorry about Kurtis." Lara didn't look back as she continued forward, hatred and revenge settling upon her mind.

Mariana watched as the figure before her disappeared into the night. She smiled to herself as she watched her, "Pathetic."


	30. Threats

Chapter 30

Kurtis drove the bike forward with a laden sense of guilt and sadness over Lara's situation. The thought of her hadn't left his mind since he'd lost her at the graveyard early that morning. The demon's were cruel, forcing him to wait an entire day without a mere assumption of Lara's condition, whether they had hurt her, possessed her, or more likely and horrifying, killed her. He closed his eyes with self disgust at the thought. He hated himself for losing her, hated himself for leaving her alone.

Despite the agony and anxiety the day's wait had caused, he didn't dare to disobey the orders Mariana had given him. Fear of what the demon may do to her captive if the instructions _were_ violated, kept him from rushing into the fight, rushing to Lara.

He had done as he was told, and now the Sinthium Warehouse appeared in the distance. He looked to his watch, careful to stay steadily on the road. It was 11:07pm. It was time.

The building, turned black from the recesses of night, wavered in the distance as Kurtis stalled his vehicle. He stared at the warehouse as he steadied his breathes, readying himself for what he may find once he entered the vile place. He didn't want to think of Lara's demise, but when dealing with Mariana, anything was a possibility, no matter how horrible that _anything_ was.

He forced himself to continue, knowing that the longer he wavered the less time he would have to negotiate with the demons that awaited him. He crept the bike forward at a slowed pace, not wishing for the sound of combustion within the engine to alert the wraiths to his presence. He needed to be silent, so once inside he could be invisible.

Kurtis studied the side of the large building as he approached it. The warehouse was old, and no doubt abandoned many years prior. The slight remains of the name _Sinthium_ printed with iron letters could be seen upon the building's corrugated aluminum wall, consumed with age and up-grown vines.

He studied the surface of the structure, searching for an entrance of some kind. After circling the building three times, he found one, not a door, but just as good, a hole.

Kurtis quickly parked his bike in the shadows, and left its side, hurriedly pacing himself toward the tall building, and to Lara.

Darkness consumed the space all around as he cautiously entered the battered warehouse through the natural door in its side, created from years of moisture, converting the metal to rust and slowly eating it away. The makeshift entrance led him into an empty corridor, one of the building's side passages. He wasted no unnecessary time being cautious, and quickly made his way through the darkened path, his Boran X being all the caution he could afford. He held the weapon tightly within his hands as he neared the end of the eerie corridor, its evil presence ignored by Kurtis, his mind set on more important things. He had to find Lara and get them both out of this place before the wraiths caught on. He knew that Mariana was using Lara as bait, bait to get him where she wanted him to go. He would be easier to kill when she was expecting him, knowing where he would be, and the conditions in which he would arrive. It all spelled out his end, Mariana luring him here, then killing him, and finishing off Lara in the process. He didn't care, about himself that was. Lara was all that mattered. He would get her out, without giving a shit about himself.

Kurtis stalled his thoughts and movement as the end of the hallway appeared before him. He lowered his gun as he neared it, ready to peer around the dark corner, ready to see the enemy waiting on the other side. He rapidly moved his upper body forward, and peered around the wall's edge. His eyes met no enemy, but another corridor identical to the one in which he stood. The emptiness was not a relief. He had wanted the wraiths to be there, he had wanted their blood, wanted to get back at them for everything wrong that had occurred in his life. He turned the corner in a single movement, and continued his assault through the Sinthium building.

Another corridor came to an end, and was followed by a set of stairs which Kurtis quickly scaled, then another corridor appeared, and another. Kurtis wanted to scream with frustration as he ran through this neverending maze of hallways and inclines, his unknowingness of this building stalling his search. That's when he saw it, and his frustration turned to anxiety. The entrance to the main area of the warehouse stood at the end of the current hallway he presided in. The light from the large open space that awaited him created a faint glow within the smaller space around him, a light caused by the heavy moonlight shining brightly upon the thin panels of the warehouse roof.

Kurtis didn't hesitate. He would find Mariana, and possibly Lara within the warehouse's main storage facility. He was ready for the outcome of his stupidity.

He felt himself gasp for an unknown reason as he opened the door and the large room appeared before him. It was empty, other than the occasional crates that graced the room's corners, creating cryptic darkness and concealed shadows. Nothing was hiding behind the crates he knew, he had a perfect view of the dark spaces the large boxes concealed from his elevated position. His quick sprint up the previous stairs had led him toward the scaffolds of the immense storage room, other than his intended entrance, the main floor. Several vehicles lined the interior as well, all military and painted dark. Even the demon's vehicles held a sense of evil.

Everything seemed normal within the room, tinted slightly blue by moonlight reflected off of cold steel. The distant chills of night plagued his body as the eerie cold of isolation surrounded him.

Kurtis spotted a closed door on the ground floor opposite him, and hurriedly searched the iron-grated balcony for a way to the main floor. He quickly found a set of descending stairs on the far side of the scaffolding. He circled the balcony with haste and made his way toward them.

His footfalls were impossible to quiet as his boots hit hard against the iron stairs. The horrid noise the action created sounded loudly throughout the empty room, despite Kurtis's effort to mute it.

He felt his steps change as his feet finally met the concrete surface of the room's main floor. He cautiously maneuvered through the vehicles and crates that fell in his path, making sure that his assumption of the room being deserted had been correct.

He stared at the closed door that beckoned him toward it, the faint glow of its frosted window creating the urge to reveal what waited on the other side.

Kurtis slowly walked toward it, a nervous feeling he hadn't expected entering his stomach, creating fear of what was waiting for him through the doorway. He reached his hand forward, his fingertips touching the cold metal of the door handle. He breathed deeply, preparing himself.

No sooner than he had touched the rusted grip, it began to turn. But not by his doing. Someone was on the other side, someone turning the door handle, entering the storage room, coming closer to him.

Kurtis quickly flung himself away from the door. It slowly creased open, the person beggining to enter. He forced his body across the cold floor, hiding it behind one of the wavering crates that the room held.

He stared at the door as it slowly turned away from its hinges, waiting for its opener to enter the storage room and confront him. The person-or _thing_ for a better description-casually stepped through the frame of the door.

Kurtis clenched his teeth as he stared at the demon, her appearance pushing him over the edge; she was smiling.

He held on to the little patience he could, and forced himself to remain in the shadows, not wanting Mariana to know he was there. Not yet anyhow.

He watched her as she walked to a crate on the far side of the room, its upper panel removed, revealing its contents to all who cared to look. Mariana's hands rummaged through the wooden container before leaving it with a dagger of some sort in her grasp. The design of the blade was familiar to him.

The Lux Veritatis! The wraiths must have been studying the clan, gathering their ancient belongings, searching for a way to destroy them permanently, or figure out one of their ancient secrets.

He calmed himself. It didn't matter. The wraiths would all be dead soon anyhow.

Kurtis gripped his pistol tighter as he quietly left his cover behind the crates. He moved quickly across the room, navigating through the objects that surrounded him, a sound never occurring from under his boots. He stared forward with anxiety and impatience as the form before him grew closer, continuing to near him with every step. Twenty feet...ten...one.

He was their, standing tall behind the demon form of Mariana, smelling the evil essence that she gave off with every movement. She was studying the dagger, reading the inscription that graced its side, searching for an answer to a question he didn't know. He heard her speak a quiet "Yes." before she leant toward the crate, dropping the blade back into the wooden container.

Her form became straight once again, but then turned stiff as the barrel of a gun was pressed firmly into the back of her neck.

The demon froze as the barrel pushed harder. She smiled, knowing who was behind her. "Hello Kurtis."

Kurtis's jaw conformed with anger at the voice. He wasn't here to listen to her sarcastic inquiries, he was here for Lara. "Where is she?" he simply asked.

Mariana grinned as she slightly turned her body, the side features of her face becoming apparent to Kurtis, her smile becoming apparent.

"I've been expecting you." Mariana spoke in a playful tone. "I must say I'm impressed that you've actually shown up on time."

"Shutup!" Kurtis spoke through clenched teeth as he forced the pistol forward even more. "I know Lara's here somewhere, and I swear to god if you've done _anything_ to her..." his words waned with a pause, leaving their outcome to the imagination.

"You'll what?" Mariana asked, her playful tone completely gone, replaced with annoyance and anger. "_Threaten _to kill me again?" she paused as the laugh returned and her mind decided upon a plan. "I'd better go get her then!" She sarcastically mocked him.

Kurtis had no time to react as the demon quickly spun toward him, lifting her arm and deflecting away the gun. She then lifted her foot, and powerfully brought it to his chest. The force slung him from the ground and carried his body across the room, connecting it hard with the concrete floor.

Kurtis forced the pain aside and quickly recovered himself, anger and fear driving him forward. He quickly stood to his feet, ready to return the demon's attack. He was met however, with a large crate rushing toward him, its movements being controlled by the enemy. He quickly slung his arms up, trying to shield himself from the oncoming structure.

Wind left his lungs as the crate connected hard with his chest, so hard that he was forced to the wall, the wooden box against his waist, holding him there as Mariana casually walked toward him and smiled.

"Where is she?" he asked again with hatred, not caring about his current position, only caring about the answer to his question.

"This is a really stupid thing you've done." Mariana spoke softly as she watched him desperately try to force the crate away. "Coming here, and giving me the opportunity to kill you over a girl? It doesn't suit the Kurtis Trent I used to know," she walked toward him, and gently placed her hand upon is cheek, "the heartless, crazed maniac who would do anything for his revenge, and his wallet. I liked that Kurtis Trent. But now," she looked him over, shaking her head, "he's pathetic."

"Then why haven't you killed me yet?" Kurtis asked as the weight against his stomach increased.

"I have to look out for my friends." she playfully spoke, brushing his bangs away from his face with her hand.

"Like you looked after my father?" Kurtis asked with a sarcastic and painful smile.

"Kurtis, your father wasn't near as attractive as you are." She answered. Her eyes than shifted down, and she rubbed her hands down the tone of his chest. "If I was a human" she said with a smile. "Well I'd-"

"Shut the fuck up!" He yelled as the pain increased. He rested his head against the wall behind him, trying to ease it.

"Now Kurtis, be a good boy." she spoke again with sarcasm, and shoved the crate harder against his waist. "Besides, you should be happy." she paused as her features changed to hatred. "You've got that pretty little whore to keep you company."

As Mariana began to move away, Kurtis pushed himself forward, trying his hardest to get free before she could leave. She was no doubt going to get Lara, dead or alive he didn't know. The fear of what Mariana would do, or had already done, pushed him harder, but he failed to move.

"Don't you fuckin touch her!" he shouted, trying to stall the demon's actions.

He watched as Mariana slowly turned around. Her eyes glared slightly red from some angered emotion which he had provoked, jealousy.

"And why not?" She hid her anger with playfulness. "I could kill her easily right now." The demon's eyes never wavered from his own, raising fear within Kurtis for himself and Lara. Mariana smiled as she looked away. "But why spoil the fun?"

"She's got nothing to do with this." Kurtis desperately spoke. "You can kill me," he said before his voice rose." but if you touch her, I swear to God I will end your life, in this world or the next!"

"God?" Mariana asked with a laugh. "You think he cares about you? You've never been a believing man, so why should _he_ help." Her face angered with realization of his words. "And _you_ kill me? Now Kurtis you know that is impossible."

"I'll find a way."

"Oh?" She sarcastically added. "Let's pray you _live_ long enough to find it. And as for Miss Croft, she _would've_ been spared, except for her little acts at the museum, and on the train, _and_ most recently at the graveyard this morning."

Kurtis smiled as he stared at the demon's throat, a newly formed bullet hole in its side that hadn't been there the previous time he'd seen her.

"I've never liked guns," Mariana continued, "using one is like cheating, it takes no real skill."

Kurtis watched, a new fear rising inside, as she took an ancient sword from her sheath, the same one that had nearly impaled his body on the way to Lyon. The black blade was decorated with another color now, crimson, the color of blood. He clenched his teeth once again, terrified that the lucid stains belonged to Lara.

"Now with a blade," the demon continued, bringing the tip of the sword to Kurtis's throat. "That takes real talent."

"And pinning a man to a wall isn't cheating?"

"I got you pinned up." she spoke with a smile. "I'd call that winning fairly, but then again I'm not gonna kill you, not yet anyway."

Kurtis saw her return the weapon to the belt at her waist.

"I need you to find something first."

"The Vial." he stated with a confused expression. "Why do you want it?"

She stared at him before looking upward, as though seeing another world, one created from her own thoughts and ideas. "Imagine what would happen if the Lux Veritatis blood was fed into the Nephilim, how amazing that would be."

"All the Nephilim are dead."

"Really?" she sarcastically stated. "That's what you think."

Kurtis flinched as the demon leaned down and moved toward him. She met her lips against his, and kissed him.

Kurtis's mouth stayed still throughout her act, and she finally backed away and left his side.

"Where is she!"

"Oh yes." the demon laughed under her breath. "Miss Croft is well enough. See, I know you Kurtis, and I know that you aren't quite good enough to retrieve this little artifact on your own, so..." she took a small card from a pocket within her boot, "despite the immense effort it took..."

Kurtis stared at her, more nervous than ever at the outcome of her words.

"I spared her life."

Kurtis exhaled with relief.

"Unlike you, she _is_ very good at what she does, and I know that she can get the Vial with no problem whatsoever."

Kurtis felt an immense weight lift from his body, and he fell to the floor as the crate was taken away. His eyes were instantly greeted with the card held in Mariana's hand, a business card for a hotel called The Vivec Inn.

"She's here." Mariana spoke as Kurtis gradually stood. "It's just across the street about a block down, she-"

"No." Kurtis cut her off, shaking his head at the words. "Lara would never go where you told her to-"

"It's amazing what people will do when they're unconscious." Mariana smiled as she handed him the card.

Kurtis stared at it, unsure of the demon's words, but too eager to reject them.

"I'll be seeing you," Mariana spoke as she turned from him and walked away, "and your pretty little whore." The demon opened a door on the far side of the abandoned building, before disappearing into darkness.

Kurtis breathed deeply as he eagerly began toward a large garage entrance to his left. He quickly focused his mind to lift the placement on its tracks. The coldness of night consumed him as he left the warehouse, and stared at the city block before him. The green neon sign of The Vivec Inn shown brightly against the dark sky. He smiled.


	31. Reunion

Chapter 31

Lara was sick of it, sick of men using her for her body, sick of them depriving her of her innocence.

"God Dammit!" she screamed as she threw herself onto the motel room bed, the feelings instantly bringing back memories of Kurtis, kissing her, touching her, and intimately loving her.

She screamed with hatred, and quickly grabbed the telephone that lay on the night-stand beside her. She forcefully pulled the phone from the wall, and threw it forward, shattering the room's dresser mirror. The room was suddenly still as Lara's movements stalled. She stared forward as her mind comprehended the emotions plaguing her, changing her feelings of hatred to sadness. She felt herself sitting once again on the bed as she buried her head in her hands, wiping away the newly formed tears before they could fall upon her flustered cheeks.

This was too much, too much for her sensitive mind. Her sudden emotions at the graveyard had proved her feelings for Kurtis; she loved him, and had rejected the thoughts of his demise. Now she welcomed it. She shook her head with confusion, unsure of what was happening. "Why?" she muttered lowly. Why would he do this to her? Why would he pretend to love her, just to betray her later? Lara stared at the floor with realization, _"Because he wants your child. He wants a Nephilim."_

She clenched her teeth before angrily kicking a nearby chair. She should've known better, should've known that men weren't to be trusted. She had done this so many times, disobeyed her instincts and actually opened herself up to a man, making herself emotionally vulnerable and making that person harder to kill in the end.That wasn't the problem now. She _wanted_ to kill him, kill him for lying to her and making her think he cared about her, making her care about him. She would do it now, kill him when he came to her, unsuspecting of anything.

"_No."_ she stopped the thought as her attention was distracted by priority. She had to wait, wait until her wrongful enemies had the Vial before she fractured Kurtis's skull with a bullet.

Her thoughts instantly changed as Mariana entered them. Lara didn't want to trust the wraith, but it was easier not to trust Kurtis.

Lara's movements instantly stopped as a chill ran up her spine. A knock sounded at the door, not one of wanted entrance or welcoming, but one of urgency and fear; it was Kurtis, is was a Nephilim, it was her enemy.

Lara instinctively grabbed a pistol from her holsters and made her way toward the door. She quickly looked through the peephole, confirming her assumptions. She took her eyes away as she saw the man of her previous thoughts, his hair drenched from sweat and the light rain that pelted down outside. He was breathing heavily as though just having completed a strenuous activity, or his anxiety was causing the spastic breaths. Lara stared at the door a long moment with a silent mind, before she quickly leveled her gun with the tiny glass hole. She wanted to pull the trigger; she had to. Kurtis deserved to die, he deserved it for all of the horrible things he had put her through. She had agreed to help him on the day he arrived at her doorstep, agreed to risk her life, which she had done more than once since this horrible reality had began. She had also agreed to let Winston die, just by letting Kurtis step into her house she had agreed to that. He had made her a target, an enemy to the wraiths, and by doing so, Winston had been killed, been killed because of her trust in Kurtis Trent. All of this had spawned from that horrid emotion of actually caring for another human being and believing that their words are those of truth.

"_For what?"_ her mind asked. All of this had happened for what? She had been able to push her sadness aside before, Kurtis's love for her had made it all worth it, had made it better. But now, the truth was out, and his love had been fake, a front to fool her and get her pregnant. She squeezed the pistol tighter at the thought, but her grip instantly loosened as new thoughts occurred, thoughts of her sadness and disappointment over Kurtis's actions.

"Lara?"

She heard him shout loudly from the other side of the thin door. "Are you in there! God please open the door, please tell me you're alright!"

How dare he! How dare he actually pretend to care about her physical status. Her grip tightened once again as she pulled the trigger back, her anger-

Lara stopped, forgetting about her purpose here, forgetting about the Vial. She lowered the gun with unwanted disappointment.

She stared toward the door, quickly wiping away her tears, realizing the condition she was in, the condition of sadness and hatred, a condition that would spur unwanted questions.

She breathed deeply, calming her rage as her fingertips graced the metal door handle. She turned it.

An eerie quiet fell as the door crept open. A single shadowed figure appeared on the opposite side. The man stared in motionless silence as Lara's figure met his eyes, a strange stillness that made her weary. She fought to keep her expression from conforming to a slate of anger as she stared at the man before her. She wanted to kil-

Lara was taken by surprise as Kurtis instantly rushed toward her, his movements so fast that an attack would be impossible to deflect, even by _her_. That didn't matter however, for Kurtis wasn't attacking her, he was hugging her, tightly wrapping his arms around her lithe body, gently caressing her, and anxiously relieving his mind of horrid assumptions.

Lara breathed deeply as he held her, calming her hatred and desire to fire a bullet into his stomach at that very moment. His body was firm against her own, his shirt drenched in sweat and the smell of testosterone, his manly presence bringing back memories of her lost love for him, and of their intimacy.

She wanted him to let her go, let her go before more of the thoughts emerged, thoughts of how he couldn't be the bad guy, and of how Mariana was just tricking her. _"No!"_ she forced the words away. All the proof was there, all the proof that Kurtis Trent was a Nephilim, and that she was a simple pawn in his fucked up game.

Her want wasn't granted; he didn't let go. His grip never wavered, it only grew tighter.

"I thought I'd lost you." He spoke lightly in her ear, the slight whimper of sadness in his throat.

Kurtis tried his best not to cry as he held Lara in his arms. He wouldn't show weakness in front of her, though the fact that he'd lost her to the wraiths had already proven his cowardliness.

Lara swallowed hard at his words, forcing herself to muster a smile. "You'll never lose me. Why would you think such a thing?"

Lara felt Kurtis's grip loosen as he backed away. She tried her best not to gasp as she saw his face, unwanted tears streaking his cheeks.

"Because Mariana had you." He answered with confusion, wiping away the embarrassing lines of moisture. "I thought she was going to kill you to get back at me."

Lara was silent, unsure what to say, unsure of how to be inconspicuous. "Then why didn't she?" she had to sound unknowing.

"She said that you could help me get the vial."

"What?" Lara began with confusion at the statement. "You spoke with her?"

"Not intentionally." he stated jokingly, but couldn't force a smile. "I was trying to kill her."

Lara didn't understand. If Mariana had been in contact with him, why hadn't she captured him and forced him to go to Silivri herself.

Lara realized Kurtis was staring at her as the thoughts ran through her mind, possibly creating assumptions of her awkward behavior.

No, he was staring at her out of disbelief, out of love. Lara was so confused. Why was he staring at her with such loving eyes? Why was he crying?

He was crying because he'd lost her, crying because he thought she had been dead, crying because he loved-

"_No!"_ she stopped the thought before it could create hope within her. He was crying so he could fool her, make her think that he cared. She felt her hand instinctively hover by her pistol as she looked to him. She forced her angered action to stop as Kurtis continued.

"Lara." his tone was almost mute though his happiness screamed loudly from his wide smile. He quickly neared her.

Lara knew his intentions, and she would have to abide by them. What would have normally been an impossibility occurred as Kurtis grabbed her once again, bringing his lips to her own and kissing her. Lara wanted to scream throughout the act, the horrid tongue of a Nephilim within her mouth. She couldn't stop, this was something she had to do, something to prove her trust in him, though she had none whatsoever. She had already fucked him; the thought made her cringe. This was nothing in comparison.

That's when it happened, Kurtis's hand slowly sliding down her form, wrapping around the back of her thighs as he lifted her off of the floor, gently resting her back against the nearby wall as he spread her legs, wrapping them around his waist.

This couldn't happen. This _wasn't_ going to happen. Kissing him was bad enough, but Lara couldn't even muster the thought of sleeping with him again.

She quickly pressed her hands against his chest as his waist pressed hard against her inner thighs. She gently pushed him back.

"Kurtis," she spoke lightly, grabbing his attention. She searched her mind for an escape from the Nephilim's hold. "I'm really tired." She said the words with a fake smile, trying not to hurt Kurtis's feelings, wanting to hurt him somewhere else.

The fake Lux Veritatis warrior returned her smile as he lightly kissed her once again, then lowered her to the floor. "So am I." he stated as he walked away.

Lara sighed once his back was turned, thankful for his understanding mind, something she had always admired him for when she had thought he was human. _"Stop it!"_

"We need to get out of here anyway." he continued. "Mariana knows we're here."

Lara nodded her head though her thoughts disagreed. She wasn't sure if leaving the hotel, and her new _friend's_ contact was the best action to carry out. Mariana knew where they would end up however, so everything would be fine, even if they left the Vivec Inn.

"Where are we going?" she asked with a teasing smile, making her pretend-lust for Kurtis more evident as she rubbed her hands against the tone of his back, the act making her sick inside.

"I don't know." He simply told her as he stared into her eyes.

Lara searched for the words, searched for the foolery that would get him to Silivri.

She found it.

"Well where did the scroll tell you to go next?" she asked, forcing herself to hold the smile.

Kurtis's face changed from happiness to distress. "I don't know."

"And why not?" Lara asked with confusion. "You did get the scroll didn't you?"

"No." Kurtis spoke lightly as a smile returned. "I destroyed it."

Lara stared at him with arched bows. "You destroyed it?" she asked. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I don't give a fuck about it anymore." He answered as he neared her. "All I care about is you."

Lara stared at him, her jaw slightly lowered at his words. Maybe he did love her, maybe this Nephilim did. It didn't matter. He was evil, and he _would _be destroyed.

Lara had to be herself. Any emotion that was unlike her could give her away. "And what about all the other people in this world!" anger filled her words. "Do you care about them!"

Kurtis was silent for a moment before shaking his head. "No."

"_Liar!"_ Lara's mind screamed. _"You fucking liar! You don't care about me! You don't love me! If you did, you wouldn't hide behind this mask! You'd tell me who you are, _what _you are!"_

"Kurtis," she spoke to him, calming her emotions, "we _have_ to get that Vial."

"Why?" he returned, confused. "Why do you care so much about the Vial?"

"Because I'm a good person!" she answered. "I look out for more people than myself!"

"What do you think I'm doing!" he argued on the verge of a scream, Lara's not understanding building his frustration. "I'm doing this for you! I'm not gonna loose you again over this fucking Vial!"

"You _will_ lose me." Lara stated, trying to be subtle though still angry inside. "And everyone else on this planet, because once _you_ die, we'll _all_ die. Don't you understand that!"

"Yeah!"

"Then why don't you care!"

"Because its not my problem!"

"Well how long do you think it will be before the wraiths catch up with you, before they kill you and unleash their horrors into the world!"

Kurtis was silent at the words.

"You don't care," Lara continued, a quieted voice "but you should."

An awkward silence fell as the two looked away from one another, their argument dismaying them both.

Lara knew that both their words had been those of untruth. Kurtis didn't care, and neither did she. Neither of them cared because none of it was true. Kurtis had made it all up. No dangers would appear once he died, but absolute peace and reassurance for the world. Lara instantly frowned as the thoughts wavered. She had just caught one of his statements, caught something that made no sense. Mariana had said that Kurtis wanted to find the Vial so that he could create another nephilim. If that was the case, he would never have abandoned his quest to find the Vial like the Kurtis before her had just stated, and he never would've destroyed the scroll. Kurtis wasn't bad, he-

"_Just Stop! Please stop!"_ her mind pleaded for the thoughts to leave her. _"You know that he is evil, stop creating false hope. Get him to Silivri,_ _that's all you have to do."_ She turned back to Kurtis, his hansom features and heavenly body making her sigh with disappointment. He was thinking, thinking about the Vial, and retrieving it. She knew the Nephilim would never stop looking for it.

"It's pointless now." he spoke softly, his anger receding. The scroll's gone. I don't know where-

"Silivri." Lara cut him off. "The Vial's in Western Turkey."

"And how do you know that?" Kurtis was confused by her outburst.

Lara had to answer, had to stretch the truth. "I heard Mariana talking about it when she had me. She said that she's known where it was all along, but she wanted to delay your search, so she kept it to herself."

Kurtis shook his head. "But Mariana _wants _the Vial." he told her, his frustration rising once again. "If she knew where it was why hasn't she gotten it already?"

"Because she needs _you_." Lara spoke as she neared him, the words being forced, hoping a mistake would not be made. "The Vial's resting place will only open for you, just like in Annaba."

Kurtis stared at her. "How do you know all this?" he asked with confusion and distrust. "Mariana said you were unconscious."

Lara was silent for a short moment, her mind searching for an answer. She had to agree with the demon's words. "I-I _was,_ at first." she paused. "I woke up in a warehouse and heard her, then they put me out again."

Kurtis was silent, staring at her with steady yet timid eyes. He shook his head, giving in, "Is this what you want?"

"What?"

"For me to get the vial?"

"Of coarse that's what I want." Lara spoke, her voice slightly rising once again. "_You_ should want that too."

Lara watched him, anxious to hear his response, anxious to get to the Vial.

Kurtis stared at the ground, contemplating her request. There was no question. "Fine." he stated under his breath.

Lara felt herself sigh before another silence fell, Kurtis staring at her.

He quickly walked past her, heading toward the door. "Lets get the hell out of here." his voice was sullen. He opened the door as Lara followed behind him.

"What about rest?" Lara asked, trying to convince him to stay. "We both need some, and we'll never reach Silivri before morning, probably not even by tomorrow night."

"I don't care." Kurtis spoke as they left the room. "Mariana knows we're here. I'd rather sleep on the fucking street than stay."

Lara sighed as Kurtis turned his back to her. They quickly went to the bike he had taken, ready to start toward the Vial.


	32. Revealing the Lie

Chapter 32

The phone rand with a hypnotic yet anxiety inducing melody as Mariana held the earpiece to the side of her head. The ringing stopped as the opposite end was answered. No voice came, a sign that she had dialed correctly.

"Master," the demon spoke with a smile, proud of the knowledge she had gained. "It worked. Mr. Trent will be in Silivri by tomorrow night."

The silence continued, until broken by the slight grimace of a laugh; the master was pleased.

The line went dead.

(-)

The night and following day waned slowly as Lara fought to act normal around Kurtis. They had ridden the entire night from the Vivec Inn, before stopping at a different, more discreet hotel that morning, then resting for several hours before returning to the taken motorcycle and continuing their pursuit toward Silivri, toward the Vial. The past 24 hours had been the worst of Lara Croft's life. She had been forced to constantly create excuses for Kurtis's physical advances toward her, without sounding or appearing suspicious. Not to mention hiding her extreme hate for him. She tried to keep from looking at him, tried to keep from looking at his features, the features she had fallen in love with, the features of evil. Kurtis's sudden cheerfulness hurt Lara, even though her feelings for him were dissipated. He thought that his wishes had come true, Lara was still alive and the Vial was only hours away. Her revenge was only hours away too.

She was ready.

Kurtis's happiness had blinded him from Lara's awkward behavior, making him blame it solemnly on her tiredness and shock of surviving Mariana's onslaught. Everything was perfect now. Lara had fallen for him, and the Vial was in his grasp.

He was ready.

The hours passed quickly, made into minutes by anxiety and hopefulness, until a rugged sign advertising the town of Silivri appeared before them. Lara sighed deeply, preparing herself for the upcoming event, preparing herself for a confrontation with Kurtis.

The night was silent as the bike sped through the small town that surrounded them. Quickly making their route toward the ruins on the town's opposite side even more unbearable.

Lara felt her heart slow as the structure grew closer, eventually so close that the town melted away, wilderness consuming them. The large stone carvings grew large in front of them, the motorcycle's engine quickly slowing, coming to a halt as Kurtis let away from the throttle.

The bike stopped directly in front of the ancient structure, the immense pillars that surrounded the monument towering above them, creating a path toward the nearby mountainside, toward the door that Kurtis would open, toward the Vial.

Kurtis wasted no time as he quickly left the motorcycle, then helped Lara to meet him as they walked toward the great structure before them, passing by the towering columns, admiring their design.

He gripped Lara's hand tightly as he turned to her, bringing back memories of Samandira, their kiss, and of Lara's realization that she had loved him. She shivered as a chill ran throughout her body.

Kurtis shook his head as if in regret as he stared forward, a sudden thought occurring. His eyes grew wide, filled with joy. "It's over." he sullenly stated with bright features as he turned to her.

Lara returned Kurtis's happiness and she gripped the pistol at her side, knowing that this would be his last moment of the cheerful emotion.

"It is." she spoke softly as she turned toward him. His face one of slight fear of the future, but happiness of the present.

He was smiling, that heavenly smile that she would always love despite his betrayal, despite his evil ways; she'd miss it, miss it all, everything from the way he kissed her to the way he kept his facial hair, coarse and rough to the touch. Lara forced her eyes away from him and lowered her hand from his, not wanting to cry, not wanting to sadden herself even more than she currently was. She slightly backed away from him as he studied the mountainside. He was so happy, happy because he wasn't expecting anything, wasn't expecting Mariana to appear right behind him, her demons by her side, ready to kill.

Lara gasped out of instinct as she saw the head wraith standing next to her. She was expecting Mariana to rush toward her and attack, though in truth there was nothing to be worried about. Lara stared at the demon, stared as Mariana instructed her to level her pistol. She did.

Kurtis's blood ran cold as a noise sounded behind him, the sound of a bullet entering an empty chamber, a gun being cocked, ready to kill. Someone was behind him, threatening his life, threatening Lara's life. He gripped the circular blade at his waist and quickly turned, anger within him for whoever-

He stopped, jaw opened as he stared, stared at a sight so confusing that his mind went blank, so frightening that he couldn't breathe; a gun barrel was pointed at his head, the 9mm being held by the woman he loved, the woman he would have given his life for, slight tears developing in her eyes. What was going on? Was she insane?

"Lara?" Kurtis spoke as he stared at her, not understanding. "What the hell are you-"

Kurtis's words ended as another vision came into focus, the vision of his enemies, of Mariana and her demons appearing before him, taking position behind Lara, leveling their guns just as she had done. The latter sight didn't matter, the demons would kill, that was to be expected, but why was Lara-

"Hello Kurtis." Mariana broke his thoughts once again as she stepped beside Lara's form, her sarcasm streaming as it always did. "Nice to see you again."

The words were insignificant, unimportant, a figment of imagination if nothing more; he didn't even hear them. They were nothing compared to what he _saw_.

He stared at Lara, his eyes never wavering from her own, reading her emotions of anger, guilt, and sadness. "Lara?"

Mariana smiled as she watched his features of confusion. "What's wrong Kurtis?" the demon spoke with a teasing voice. "You seem upset."

The cruel words never met Kurtis's ears, his mind was occupied. "Lara, what are you doing?" he repeated.

Lara didn't want to be subtle, she wanted to be fierce, wanted to give him what he deserved. "Me!" she shouted the words, changing her emotions from guilt to vicious rage. "What about you?"

"What are you talking about!" Kurtis's confusion spawned his anger. "I haven't done anything!"

"Stop lying to me!" Lara returned, just as the tears did. "I can't take it anymore!"

Kurtis was hesitant and quickly backed away as Lara gripped the pistol tighter within her hands. He had to stay calm, had to figure out what was provoking this absurd behavior. "What is it?" he asked, forcing his voice to remain sullen. "What did I do?"

Lara stared at him, her mind confused. "How can you do this to me?" she asked, her timidness lowering her voice. "Betray my trust and love and then lie about it to my face?"

Kurtis gasped with realization. He had figured it out, figured out why Lara was acting this way, acting so strange ever since he had met her at the Vivec Inn. He understood everything. Kurtis looked to Mariana, a smirk across the demon's face. He turned back to Lara, a questioning demand toward Mariana. "What did she tell you?"

"Everything!" Lara replied, her voice angered once again.

"God Dammit, Everything about what!"

Lara was scared by his behavior. She didn't understand how he could pretend to be unknowing, pretend to have never betrayed her, never lied to her. She shook her head as she stared. "About you! About your trying to knock me up with your demon child, about using me to get the Vial, and about pretending to be on the good side so I would fall in love with you!" She broke out in tears at the last statement.

Kurtis was silent as he stared at her, an unbelieving and shocked presence entering his thoughts at Lara's words and action. "You actually believed what Mariana said? You believed _her_ over _me_!" he paused as he shook his head. "Lara I love-"

"Don't!" she raised the pistol higher. "Just shut the fuck up!"

The pistol fired.


	33. The Mistake

Chapter 33

"No!" Mariana screamed as she dove forward, her hands gripping the pistol in Lara's hand, deflecting it away as the bullet in its chamber flew from the barrel, spinning toward the final Veritatis warrior, missing his head by mere inches. A mark that would've been met had the weapon's aim not been slightly altered.

Kurtis felt his hands wrap quickly around his head as the stone wall beside him exploded into pieces from the force of an iron round. He lowered his body out of surprise and instinct.

"You fool!" he heard shouted in the head wraith's voice, her anger centered at Lara. He slowly raised his head and watched as the demon took the gun from Lara's grasp. He stared at his would be killer, her face completely blank, all emotion gone with the tears, dissolved by rage. Kurtis wanted to scream with sorrow as he realized what had happened. Lara had fired a gun at him. She would've killed him.

He wished she had.

Lara closed her eyes as the demon yelled at her, insulting her foolish ways. She deserved it. Lara knew that they needed Kurtis alive, needed the brand upon his shoulder to open the cavern before them, to retrieve the Vial. "I'm sorry." she spoke to the creature as she stared at Kurtis, his eyes watering with sadness from her previous act, her act of trying to kill him. His emotions were fearful, unsure of what had just happened.

Why was he so upset? Was it his knowing that he was about to die? Or-

"Weren't expecting this were you Kurtis?" Mariana broke Lara's thoughts as she neared the whimpering man before them. "For Miss Croft to realize the truth?"

The words were blank once again in his ears, his attention captured by Lara and only her.

"I told her everything," Mariana continued as she rubbed her hand around Kurtis's collar, "everything from your brand being connected to the Nephilim, to your true purpose at the Strahov in Prague, everything that would make the hate that she _should _have for you arise." the demon paused as she looked back to Lara and smiled, then met Kurtis's gaze once again. "I told her to get you here, and she has. She's very reliable." the demon paused and instantly raised Lara's gun, leveling it with its owner's forehead. "And very gullible."

Lara felt herself stop with awed fear as her own 9mm pistol was suddenly pointed toward her head, Mariana holding the gun tightly. She looked back to Kurtis as realization entered her mind. Kurtis hadn't lied, it was Mariana, a trick to get the Veritatis warrior where the demon had wanted him, a trick to get the Vial.

Lara gasped loudly as she cupped her mouth with surprise, tears instantly streaming down her face. She fell to her knees and covered her face with her arms, her mind torturing her with previous actions and idiotic assumptions. She could've killed Kurtis, she _would've_ killed him.

She sighed loudly as sorrowful moans poured from her throat.

"I have to say _thank you _Lara." Mariana spoke as she stared at the figure cowering upon the ground. "Thank you for finishing my work for me and getting Mr. Trent exactly where I need him." she laughed. "You're a really stupid bitch."

The demon turned away from Lara and looked back to Kurtis.

He ignored her. His eyes were steady against the ground, brows slanted with hate, staring at the woman before him, the woman he had once loved, that love abandoned by betrayal and hatred. He watched with never wavering eyes as Lara slowly lifted her head and stared at him, her eyes red with self-hatred, her mouth muttering the words "I'm sorry" over and over again before her head disappeared under her arms once again. The words meant nothing to him because his emotions were those of nothingness, all feelings consumed by his disbelief and anger of betrayal.

"Now," Mariana began as she studied the stone structure wavering behind Kurtis, "it's time to finish what you've started, it's time to retrieve the Vial." she walked back to him, his eyes still trained upon Lara Croft. "Open the door. Uncover the Veritatis brand and let me finish my assignment."

Lara breathed spastically as she heard the demon's words. This was all her fault. She couldn't let Mariana get the Vial, she _wouldn't_ let her. Her history of betrayal had caused her to overreact to mere assumptions of Kurtis's true status as her companion, and now she would renew herself; she would stop the bitch who had deceived her.

Fear entered Lara's mind as she looked to Kurtis as he slowly arose to a stand. His hand gripped his collar, pulling his shirt down, ready to reveal the Veritatis brand to the stone doorway, ready to open the sacred cavern and give the Vial to Mariana. What was he thinking?

"Kurtis don't!" Lara shouted as she reached toward him. "You can't open the doorway!"

"Why!" Kurtis screamed as he turned fiercely toward Lara, his sudden anger frightening her and the demon that stood beside him. "Why does it matter anymore! You don't give a fuck about what happens to me, so neither do I!"

Lara watched with heightened anxiety as Kurtis turned back toward the doorway, lowering his shirt further, revealing the brand completely and causing the structure before them to violently crack as a red glow emerged from its center. She wanted to cry at his actions. He was giving in because of her, because she had turned on him, because she hadn't returned his love, only distrust. That didn't matter now, what mattered was the Vial. It couldn't meet Mariana's grasp.

She had to act, had to get her and Kurtis safely within the cavern's door without Mariana following behind. She watched as the doorway suddenly began to spread, creating an opening for the evil wraiths around them to enter through.

"Yes!" Mariana shouted as the stones began to separate, welcoming her inside, welcoming the destruction of the world.

Lara had to do something _now_. She knew that Kurtis's mind would never change, his love had been destroyed and now he didn't care. He was giving in to the evils around him, showing the brand and unlocking the door. Lara had to stop him.

She stared at the doorway, waiting for an opportunity, hoping that her sudden assumptions were correct, hoping that the door would close if the brand was taken away, covered up, its powers blocked from the enormous stones. She watched timidly as the door inched open, Kurtis directly in front of it, her behind him, as it opened wider, a foot, two, three; they could make it through.

Lara forgot her feelings of guilt as she rushed forward, Mariana faced away from her, unsuspecting of anything. She pushed her hands forward as they met the upper part of Kurtis's back, forcing him forward and passed Mariana, Lara following swiftly behind his forced movements.

Mariana gasped as Kurtis's form suddenly fled beside her, Lara behind him, the two rushing quickly through the three foot crevice of the stone before her. "No!" she screamed as their bodies disappeared into the darkness beyond the doorway. Their quick advance wasn't the problem however, but the fact that the door quickly began to return to its original placement, closing her path to the Vial, her path to Kurtis and Lara. She gritted her demonic teeth as she dove forward, uncaring of the risk of being crushed between the giant structure, only wishing entrance to the ancient cavern, housing her life's goal, the Vial of Kindred Shadows. Her body met darkness as she continued forward, the doors closing rapidly behind her.

Mariana's feet planted firmly against stone as her body rolled forward. A loud noise sounded behind her, the sound of stone connecting with stone, the sound of the ancient door closing. She smiled; she had made it into the Lux Veritatis ruins, she had made it to her destiny. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the room the surrounded her, her mind remembered the two other pursuers of the Vial. She timidly scanned the room, a simple entry hall, lit faintly by the ever familiar torches. A pair of wooden double doors graced the opposite wall, still swaying from the force of a rushed entry.

Lara Croft and Kurtis Trent were nowhere to be seen.


	34. Setting the Stage

Chapter 34

Lara could see nothing within the faintly lit rooms as she rushed forward, following the figure before her as he quickly dashed away from her.

"Kurtis stop!" she called out to him as he continued through another of the many doorways they had passed through. His movements never halted whatsoever, ignoring the woman behind him's pleas with anger.

Lara thrust her hands forward, wrapping them tightly around his arm, trying to stall his advance, trying to talk to him about what had happened, trying to explain-

Her arm was violently thrown away as Kurtis slung his shoulder away from her and continued his quickened pace forward. She had to stop him, had to talk to him, no matter what, she had to get him to listen.

Lara quickly lashed her hand forward and gripped Kurtis's wrist. She violently twisted the limb to the left as she pressed her foot firmly into his back. The hold was short-lived however, as Kurtis instantly bent his elbow and spun from her failed attempt at a hold, turning back toward her, and angrily thrusting his palm into her throat as he shoved her into a nearby wall.

He stared deeply in her eyes as she looked at him with fear, shocked by his actual act of harming her. "Leave me the_ fuck _alone."

The grip loosened as Lara fell to the ground, slightly coughing to regain the flow of air to her lungs. She shook her head, putting her shock at his action aside. "Just listen to me please!"

Kurtis couldn't take it any longer, ignoring her would never be enough. "Why!" he screamed as he quickly darted toward her, stopping only inches from her face. "You never listened to me! You never believed a fucking word I ever said to you!"

"I was wrong!" Lara pleaded, the tears returning once again, this time from guilt. "I'm sorry!"

"Yeah?" Kurtis smirked with sarcasm. "So am I, that I ever met you!"

"You don't understand!"

"I _do_ understand!" he yelled louder than ever before. "I gave you everything I had! I risked my life for you, I fought for you, and I fell in love with you! But it still wasn't enough to simply gain your trust!" he paused as he backed away from her and started toward another doorway. "So fuck the Vial and fuck saving the goddamn world. I don't give a shit anymore."

Lara quickly got to her feet as she ran toward him, kicking the closing door out of her way as she entered the room he had disappeared into. She watched as he continued to hastily walk away from her, both of them so caught up with one another's emotions that the room surrounding them was ignored, the huge pillared Mass Hall that housed the Vial itself.

"Kurtis just hear me out." she spoke spastically as sadness took her voice. She caught up with Kurtis as his movements had stopped. She looked to his eyes, now matching hers with streaked tears, tears of confusion and sorrow.

"How could you do that?" he spoke softly as he stared at the ground, not wishing to look at her. "How could turn on me after everything we've been through."

"Because I'm a fool." Lara spoke in the same sullen voice as she rubbed her hand across his face. "Because my past wouldn't allow me to trust you."

"What?" Kurtis asked, not understanding, his eyes still fixed upon the ground.

"I have been betrayed so many times in the past," Lara spoke to him, steadying her voice as her sighs interrupted her words, "so many times that it's impossible for me to trust the people I love."

Kurtis's movements stopped at the words, and so did Lara's. His eyes moved from their fixation with the ground as he slowly leveled his gaze, staring deeply into Lara's eyes with realization. "You love me?"

A silence conveyed as his question finished, his anxious mind waiting for an answer, and Lara ready to give one. There was no question.

Lara eyes were steady as a remaining tear fell. "I lov-"

The life changing moment was ended in a near deadly way as the sound of gunshots echoed throughout the extravagant space that surrounded the companions. Lara and Kurtis quickly fell to the ground out of instinct as the fearful surprise became known to them. Lara felt Kurtis's hand wrapped tightly around the back of her waist as she raised her head toward the entrance of the room, toward the source of the noise and toward the evil entity that had interrupted them, the blonde hair and cruel laugh waiting in the now opened doorway.

"I must say," Mariana spoke in the cursed voice as she stared at the vision before her, "I'm very touched." the demon threw the unwanted 9mm pistol to the ground, it usefulness in gaining her enemy's attention ended.

Lara and Kurtis were silent as the demon neared them, Kurtis helping Lara to her feet, then holding her tightly beside him, staring at the demon with hatred, her deceptive ways trying to destroy their lives once again.

"I'm slightly surprised that you two are doing so well," Mariana continued, still playing with their minds, "especially after all the hatred I sensed between you outside."

The silence still held.

"What?" Mariana asked. "You've nothing to say?" she paused as she smiled. "That's fine with me. I'm sure you both know my purpose here, and if neither of you get in my way, I assure you that I may consider letting _one_ of you live." she slowly advanced toward them, their features and vocals mute. "Where's the Vial?"

Nothing.

"Alright." Mariana smiled. "That's fine!."

Lara was taken by surprise as Mariana lashed out toward her, her fingernails-

The threat was instantly knocked away by a swiftly giving kick, as Kurtis met the demon's attack. He delivered another solid hit to Mariana's stomach, forcing the demon to retreat her advance.

Lara stared at Kurtis, thankful for his quick reactions, and even more thankful for his forgiveness in her. She wanted to shoot herself for betraying him, for being such a fool. It would have to come later however, after they killed the bitch that had ruined their lives, the bitch that stood before them now.

Mariana growled as she regained her bearing. The demon knew that her physical attributes would never be enough to defeat these pathetic humans, even if she was immortal. She had to give them her best, in other words, the worst.

Kurtis watched with fear as Mariana quickly clasped her hands together, closing her eyes as she slightly parted her lips, whispering to herself, whispering evil.

Kurtis shook his head as he quickly looked to Lara, anxiety in his eyes. "Run." He spoke loudly as Lara stared at Mariana, his words never present. "Run!"

Lara quickly left her trance with the demon as she saw Kurtis's anxiousness. She hurriedly followed his demand as she quickly dove toward one of the giant marble pillars that stood beside her, taking cover behind its large form.

She anxiously waited for Kurtis to appear beside her. He didn't. She looked back toward the Mass Hall to see him standing in its center, staring at Mariana with hatred. What was he-

Lara gasped as she saw Mariana, a circular object conforming around her hands; but it was no object of any kind, it was energy, an evil force that would no doubt be used as a weapon.

Kurtis had to get out of there, he had to reach a safe place. Lara called to him, screaming his name for him to meet her, unsure of what Mariana was about to unleash, unsure if Kurtis could survive whatever it was.

The energy grew larger as Kurtis stared at the demon, the large blue sphere covering the entire frame of Mariana's body, a deadly force that Kurtis had seen used before, used by the same evil entity that used it now. He knew that the force would kill if its hit was dead-on, knew that if he ran Mariana would have a better chance of hitting him. He had to wait, wait until she attacked.

Lightening seemed to strike inside of the blue sphere and Mariana smiled. Lara stared at Kurtis, his form staying solid, never moving from the center aisle of the hallway. He couldn't do this to her, let himself die. _"No."_ Lara's mind intervened. She had to believe in him, had to realize that he knew what he was doing, just like he had at the cathedral in Samandira. He wasn't letting himself die, he had a plan. She had to trust him.

A loud noise filled the room as Mariana let out a vicious cry. The demon forcefully threw her hands forward, centering the energy at the figure before her as she screamed with hatred. The sphere left its placement around the evil creature and flew rapidly toward Kurtis, ready to end his life.

The Veritatis warrior's movements remained the same; he didn't move. His eye were fixated upon the energy that was quickly soaring toward him, coming closer with every second, bringing him closer to his demise.

He had to wait, had to wait for the opportunity to arise. The ball continued toward him, ready to consume him and take his life.

The opportunity came.

Lara couldn't watch any longer. She closed her eyes as the energy met its mark, devouring Kurtis in its brightness, consuming his life with Mariana's sorcery. She let out a loud sigh, realizi-

Lara lifted her head as a familiar noise sounded behind the pillar, not a sound of death but one of retaliation, one of defense. The gunshots echoed loudly throughout the Mass Hall, Kurtis's Boran X pointed at the evil demon who'd threatened him, his body behind an adjacent pillar, the spot where he had dove from the giant sphere at the last moment, a moment that had confused Mariana's evil, that had mislead the deadly energy from his form.

The blue sphere still wavered down the tremendous hall, eventually connecting with the far wall atop a large altar, exploding into flames.

Lara ignored the deadly event as the energy was disbursed. Her attention was focused solemnly upon the battle the ensued behind her. She unleashed her remaining pistol, ready to enter in on Kurtis's assault. She quickly spun from her cover behind the extravagant pillar, aiming her gun at the lone demon before her, its body now pressed against the ground, consumed with bullet holes, wounds that healed as fast as they were delivered. Lara stared at the figure; this wasn't going to work. Firing at Mariana was nothing more than a waste of ammunition. She lowered her pistol, deciding against Kurtis's assault method. She ran to his position across the width of the hallway.

Kurtis lowered his gun as Lara appeared beside him, the two of them took cover, placing their backs against the cold marble structure behind them.

"This isn't going to work." Lara spoke fearfully as Kurtis reloaded his weapon.

"I know." he spoke angrily, his final clip now waiting to be fired. "You have to find the Vial."

Lara looked to him with confusion. "What about you?"

"I'm gonna hold Mariana off," he spoke, "give you some time."

"No." Lara refused. "You know you don't have enough bullets to do that."

Kurtis looked to her with seriousness. "Then I suggest you hurry."

"There's another way to do this." Lara pleaded with him as she began to study her surroundings. "And we're just wasting time here arguing."

"Then what do you want to do?" Kurtis asked with impatience, Mariana rapidly healing behind them.

Lara searched the space around her. It was an immense church-like environment broken into two sections. The first was the entry hall, which they now occupied, with giant stone pillars lining its side walls, each at least 6 feet in width, with a huge arched ceiling that towered above them. In the center of the hall the pillars disappeared, the rectangular structure changing into one of a circle, the Lux Veritatis brand painted black upon the floor. The circular section acted as a divider between the two section of the hallway, for the rectangular shape was returned to the hall once the brand was past, just as the pillars did. The second part of the space was clearly for Mass, as two separate rows of pews graced its interior, and a giant stone altar ended the hall. The entire structure was carved from Marble, a light brown color which was given the essence of yellow by the candles of the wooden chandeliers that hung above.

The space was huge, the pillars and pews creating complications. Lara shook her head with desperation. "I don't know where to start."

She heard the sounds of gunfire return beside her; Mariana had completely revived. She stared at the enormous room, searching for an indentation of any kind, something that could be used as a key, used to gain entrance to the purpose of this sacred place, just as the brand had been in Annaba-

Lara stopped, her mind stalling from realization of her previous thoughts. "The brand." she spoke to herself, the vision of Mariana entering her mind, the vision of the wraiths turning to dust under the power of-

"The Brand!" Lara shouted as she turned back to Kurtis.

"What?"

"There no way we can find the Vial with Mariana trying to kill us." Lara spoke to him as she rapidly eyes his chest. "We have to get rid of her first."

"That's a great idea," Kurtis's fear turned into sarcasm, "if it wasn't for the fact that she _can't die_!"

"You don't know that." Lara smiled. "The brand may work on her just as it did on the other wraiths."

"So you want me to just jump out in front of her, take my shirt off, and hope for the best?"

"What other choice do we have?" Lara returned at his sarcastic comment. She retrieved the pistol from her holster once again. "I'll keep her occupied for you."

Kurtis stared at her for a long moment, hope in her eyes, hope that he didn't have. Kurtis sighed and shook his head as he quickly lifted his shirt over his head. He rested his body against the marble pillar, breathing deeply, preparing himself, forcing hope to enter his mind.

He nodded his head with readiness, telling Lara to begin her assault.

Lara gripped her pistol tightly as she leaned forward and caressed Kurtis's lips. She kissed him longingly before diving from her cover and starting toward the enemy, ready to fire upon Mariana and ready to give Kurtis an opening to destroy her.

**A/N: I really like that chapter, I hope you all do to. Hopefully I'll finish tomorrow! Need some more reviews before I pour myself into a sequel though...**


	35. Ancient Sorcery

Chapter 35

Kurtis heard several shots fire behind him as he angrily threw his shirt away. He wasted no time aiding Lara in her assault. He quickly stood from his placement upon the ground and eagerly left his cover, ready to destroy Mariana, ready to end this horrible reality.

He saw the repulsive demon before him as he appeared into the open. Mariana had gained the strength to stand since he had completed his onslaught of bullets, but the rounds that rapidly fired from the 9mm that was held right beside him had returned the lost damage; Mariana was stumbling once again, the close range of the bullets tearing her body apart faster than it could heal.

Kurtis rushed toward the demonic figure, holding his shoulder firmly outward, a glow beginning to emerge from its surface, forcing the demon to look upon the ancient marking.

An instant passed in the time of hours until Mariana suddenly began to scream, the vision of the lighted brand causing her body to experience the most horrid reality the creature had ever known, pain.

The brand was working, slower than it had effected the lesser wraiths, but still, it was actually working. Kurtis felt himself smile as he watched her, the combined efforts of himself and Lara Croft actually working to destroy the one thing that had plagued his life since he was a boy.

He would never have to worry with it again, Mariana was dyin-

A sudden clicking noise alerted Kurtis toward Lara and he sighed. He watched with fear as the empty cartridge fell from the weapon she held, the extra defense needed to keep Mariana where he wanted her had failed.

An immediate response followed as Mariana's wounds healed, the lack of bullets making the brand a mere side issue to the demon. She fiercely showed her evil smile as she growled, the brands effect no longer holding her steady. She quickly launched her foot toward Lara, meeting its tip with her temple, sending her sprawling to the floor. The demon then rushed forward, anger in her eyes, anger toward the Veritatis warrior who had nearly ended her life.

She lifted her arms as she lunged toward him, her fingernails extended, ready to deliver revengeful pain.

Kurtis felt his back hit hard against the stone floor as Mariana landed atop him. Her hands gripped around his shoulders, forcing her nails deeply into his flesh, grinning with delight as he screamed.

Kurtis forced his torso upward, trying to throw the demon from his waist, his efforts failed, the pain increasing.

Mariana quickly released the grip she had upon Kurtis's skin and redirected her hands around his broad shoulders, lifting his upper body toward her own. The demon smiled and playfully bit her tongue as she gripped the man's neck, pressing her thumbnail at the center of his throat, preparing to press it forward, impaling his wind pipe and ending his life.

Lara shook her head violently as she spastically blinked her eyes, a pain at the side of her head causing her movements to slow. Her mind stopped as a memory appeared, a memory of Mariana, of Kurtis!

She quickly lifted her head from the floor searching the room for-

She gasped; Mariana sat upon Kurtis's waist, a natural weapon at his throat, soon to cause his death. She forced herself from the floor as she pummeled her feet forward. "No!" Lara screamed as she rushed toward the demon, ready to throw her body forward and land a hit upon the bitch that wished so eagerly to end their lives. She was ready-

Her movement stopped out of fear, stopped because she knew what was happening, knew of the destruction that was about to occur. Mariana had released Kurtis's form from her grasp, knowing that Lara was rapidly approaching from behind, knowing that Lara was about to attack.

Kurtis gave a shout of warning as Lara stared at Mariana, watching as the demon clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, chanting the words of evil just as she had before, a faint glow erupting from her palms. The words were different this time, and Kurtis knew it, knew that the same energy would not result from the ancient sorcery, but something different, something less deadly but more efficient, something-

Kurtis cried out to Lara once again as Mariana lifted herself from him and turned back toward her current attacker. The glow within her palms grew brighter at that moment, and instantly rushed forward, a bolt of energy aimed squarely at Lara Croft.

The force of the blow lifted Lara from the floor and slung her across the room, her body weightless compared to the power behind Mariana's attack. Her limbs waved helplessly as she gasped from surprise, until her body connected again with the floor, her head receiving most of the blow. Her form slid lifelessly on the marble floor until it finally halted near the room's entrance within a shadowed corner.

Kurtis painfully lifted himself off of the floor and slung his foot forward, connecting it hard with Mariana's waist, knocking the demon to the ground. He quickly recovered his stance, and ran for the room's entrance, to Lara, terrified of what the energy may have done. He had to help her, had to know that she was alright, had to-

He halted as he felt the presence of the evil spirit behind him, his previous attack not slowing her whatsoever. He breathed deeply before turning to meet her.

The form of her face was astonishing, so uneven with it's heritage: so ugly yet so beautiful, so old yet peaking in it's feminine beauty, so full of anger yet he could see the sorrow and love in her eyes. She let out a grimacing smile as she casually started toward him.

Kurtis readied himself, readied himself for the sudden attack that the demon had planned. She always enjoyed surprises, no matter how horrible. Her evil form continued closer, eventually so close that he could have touched her.

Kurtis slowly gripped the Churigai at his waist, cautiously preparing for an attack of his own. He studied the demon's movements as she stared at him, the same teasing glow in her eyes. Her body was still, ready for anything, ready for the assault he was about to unleash.

As Kurtis slung forward his blade, his act was disappointed as he felt the emptiness of nothing before him. He looked forward but the demon was gone, her quick movements evading his lesser advances. He gritted his teeth and cursed with disappointment.

A sudden noise directed his attention upward, the sound of trickery which was greeted by the form of evil as his eyes met the demon that had escaped from his onslaught. She was hellishly floating near the ceiling, her eyes wide as she laughed at him. Mariana's glare quickly changed however, and she looked away from him, her attention grabbed by something else, something at the corner at the room's entrance, the limp figure of Lara Croft, her body slightly moving, slowly awakening from unconsciousness.

Mariana looked back at Kurtis and smiled.

Kurtis shook his head as fear entered his mind, realization of Mariana's thoughts becoming known. He pleaded with her in a silent stare that he knew the demon would never grant.

Mariana shook her head before rushing forward.

"No!" Kurtis shouted, as the spirit suddenly left her position above him, quickly flying toward the woman he loved.

He raced after her, running faster than he ever had before, the lining pillars darting past his head, becoming a blur from his desperate speed as he rushed forward. He had to beat Mariana, had to get to Lara before the demon did.

Her slender form was coming closer, appearing nearer to him with every step of his feet, every beat of his heart. Lara was there, directly in front of him; he could touch her. He reached out for her body, mere feet away. He had beaten Marian-

He felt his body meet cold stone as he dove forward, nothing around him except the bending of the wall. Lara was gone. It wasn't possible. She was just here.

The sound of a pained sigh entered the space above him and Kurtis directed his eyes upward. He sighed and shook his head with fear as he saw Lara, hanging limp in the air, Mariana across the room controlling her every movement.

"No!" Kurtis shouted again as he lifted his arms, trying to reach Lara, trying to pull her away from the demon's hold. She was too far away, to far for him to reach, and Mariana's grip was too powerful for his mind to break. He had to reach her before-

His mind stalled once again as he sighed with sorrow. The demon had started speaking, speaking in an ancient cursed tongue, the words of sorcery, the words of possession. He couldn't let this happen, he had to act now. Kurtis quickly threw his feet forward desperately running for Mariana.

Lara slowly drifted toward the demon that controlled her, toward a fate more horrible than Kurtis could allow to happen. He desperately tried to reach them, desperately tried to save Lara from this terrible event; it was impossible, they were to far away, to high for him to reach. He desperately threw up his churigai, only to see it deflected by a force-field that the ghostly bitch had built up around the two. His mind strayed to other efforts; he tried to lift himself, tried to use his powers to benefit; he was to weak.

Kurtis cursed and screamed as he stared at Lara, her heavenly form being condemned from its innocense by his inability to help her.

Kurtis was forced to shield his eyes as a blinding white light suddenly burst from Mariana's body, slowly spreading throughout the room until passing through Lara's fragile form. He felt a tear run down his cheek as the wraith brought her body closer. Mariana grasped Lara's arms and pulled her form toward her, slowly absorbing her life as the energy grew brighter.

Kurtis's eyes were fixed upon Lara as he helplessly stared. He sighed with hatred as she seemed to unconsciously scream, the demon's figure clasped against her own.

The light instantly grew stronger as their bodies met, before exploding into an amazing shower of fire, a force that knocked Kurtis to the ground. He shielded his eyes, watching Lara as she suddenly fell forward, her body meeting the demon's.

And she and Mariana became one.


	36. Demonic Angel

Chapter 36

The brightness subsided, and the body of Lara Croft fell from its elevated position. She now lay limp on the floor in the center of the room, her movements completely settled. Kurtis wiped his face, drying halted tears as he cautiously walked toward her.

He closely studied her form, wanting nothing more than to caress and hold her, knowing that she was his, the woman he knew. He was sure however, that his wishes would prove false the moment he encountered her.

Kurtis immediately stalled his advance and slightly backed away as Lara began to flutter her eyes. Her body slowly began to move, bringing itself from the floor, seeming to straighten inch by inch until she stood tall. Kurtis stared, praying that his assumptions were wrong, praying that Lara was herself.

He stared; she was unusually still as she faced him.

The sudden coldness of fear entered Kurtis as Lara opened her eyes, no longer glittering with beauty, but red with demonic sorcery.

She was quiet, and calmly moved her arms as if still unconscious or being controlled by some unseen force. Kurtis confusingly watched as Lara began harshly, but slowly, chocking her neck sideways. He heard a loud pop erupt from the creaking of the bones around her throat. She closed her eyes and deeply inhaled, as if for the first time.

"I breathe again." Lara's mouth spoke out, but her elegant voice had been taken away, now replaced with the deep and harsh tone of Mariana.

Kurtis lowered his head, letting out a sigh, knowing that he had failed; Lara was gone. He shamefully starred at the floor as the demon walked toward him in the shape of the woman he loved.

"Hello Kurtis." The corrupt voice spoke. "Do you like my new look?" The possessed form of Lara starred at him with a scoffing expression. "Of coarse you do. After all, don't I look just like the woman you love?"

Mariana forced the form forward, grabbing the grieving Kurtis's arm and pulling him playfully toward her.

He held his head down, ashamed to look at the result of his cowardness.

Lara's mouth smiled at him. " Maybe you could do something for me." The stifled voice came again. "I've always had a thing for you Kurtis, I'm sure you've noticed." The demons eyes slowly waned down his figure, as she smiled "I haven't laid with a man for centuries. Would you mind doing me the favor and refreshing my memory."

Kurtis simply stood still as he starred at Lara's eyes, now possessed with evil. He wanted to scream with agony at seeing her act against him in such ways.

"Oh come on." Mariana spoke. "It would be just like sleeping with Lara, same body, same feeling," she paused and grinned, "only better."

At the words Kurtis lifted his fist, ready to strike the demon down, but stopped as he saw her face, the large brown eyes, and full lips, the soft braided hair and the essence she gave off with a mere smile. He lowered his hand as the evil snickered through the beautiful shell, now tormenting him in ways unimaginable.

"Come on. Hit me!" Mariana angrily teased. "Do it, and bruise the fragile form of this whore you call a lover." She smiled and came closer toward him. "Kurtis, over the years I have found myself to be completely infatuated with you, and I think we can come to a compromise."

Kurtis continued staring at the floor, feeling more alone every time the wraith touched him.

Mariana continued. "I'll put all of this behind me, let you live, and destroy the remaining wraiths," she paused. "If you'll be mine."

Kurtis sarcastically laughed aloud at her request as she made it.

"I have a human form now," she spoke through his laughter. "and we can be together, just like if it were Lara."

Kurtis turned to her, still holding the fake smile on his face.

He wiped it away leaving nothing but hate in his expression. "I'd rather Lara be dead than rot away with some bitch destroying her inside."

Mariana turned the face of Lara into an angered and almost insane expression of anguish at the words. She stared at him with rage until her mouth curled into a cruel and mocking smile. "Really?" she simply questioned.

He watched with unsureness as the possessed form slowly walked to a knight statue by the distant alter. She clenched a sword out of its sheath, and retrieved another from the floor, the blackened blade that Mariana had dropped during the possession process. She slowly walked back to Kurtis and smiled, tossing him the old and rusted blade, then taking her stance, ready to fight.

Kurtis shook his head with anger and fear as he realized the purpose behind her actions. "No." he sternly spoke. "You can't make me do this." He wouldn't allow himself to fight her, not in the shape of Lara, not as Lara herself.

"If you want to live, you will." the demon spoke aloud, the unmatched voice again tearing Kurtis apart inside.

He stared at the rusted blade, his mind wavering on his future, on the loss of Lara. "And what if I don't?" he paused, jaw cocked back forming the expression of confusion and sadness. "What if I _don't _want to live?"

"Then you make my job all the easier!"

Kurtis was taken by surprise and quickly retreated back as Lara's form rushed toward him. He circled his blade down, blocking Mariana as she thrust her own at his waist.

"I'm not gonna do this!" he harshly yelled as he repelled another attack from the demon.

"Come on Kurtis" Mariana voice teasingly stated through pale lips. She stopped her onslaught and slightly lowered her blade. Her body slowly circled it's prey. "If you kill me," she paused with an evil grin. "and the woman you love," she harshly added. "this will all be over."

Kurtis watched with fearful hesitation as Lara's form lifted the weapon and retook her stance.

"Once I'm gone, the Lux Veritatis will be free to flourish again." Mariana continued, the vicious smile again returning the Lara's lips. "Miss Croft will be dead, and you can find some other whore to knock up."

Kurtis fist clenched the iron clasp with white knuckles at the words. He felt the urge to lunge the weapon forward, but the thought of Lara's heart beating inside the possessed flesh stopped his cravings for death and revenge.

Mariana looked to Kurtis with fake pity at his hopeful action. The moment of caring sentiment ended as quickly as it had emerged however, as the demon instantly rushed forward with another attack.

Kurtis forced himself into a defensive stance as the angelic form, now possessed by a worker of Satan, ran toward him. He watched her blade with steady eyes, and held an even steadier grip on his own. He swiftly brought his blade at an upward angle as Mariana struck her's down upon him. He slung his body forward, knocking the creature away, briefly stalling her advance.

The sound of metal upon metal echoed throughout the room as Mariana issued her attacks, and Kurtis moved his body to block them.

On a quick advance, Kurtis forced himself to back away as Mariana tried to trick his mind, leaving herself open, and daring him to take her life, daring him to take Lara's life.

She knew that he wouldn't. She had the advantage.

Seeing that her attempt had fail, she frantically charged him once again, hoping for an opening and hoping for his death. Kurtis quickly recovered his stance as she charge. He forced her sword away from his chest with the clash of his own, and quickly brought the weapon upward as she powerfully brought hers toward his face. The blades came together with a force that caused sparks, and Kurtis quickly lowered his head as Mariana forced her weapon away from his, redirecting it toward his throat.

Lara's lungs let out a shrill scream at the miss of her strike, and Mariana hurriedly pulled the blade above her.

Kurtis positioned his sword horizontally in the air, and carefully grabbed the tip with his free hand. He gripped the weapon tightly as the enemy's blade rapidly descended toward his head, then was stopped by the temporary shield. Kurtis took advantage of Mariana's slow thinking, and quickly pushed forward with the horizontal blade.

As the demon's feet fell backward from mis-balance, he started forward. He clashed his weapon against hers, and violently swung the tip with a circular motion. The enemy's blade twisted harshly, its weight forcing Lara's wrist into an identical movement.

The rival sword fell to the floor, and the possessed form was left defenseless.

In a rapid and unknowing moment Kurtis rushed forward, blade leveled to his attackers chin. He was ready to kill, his eyes large with anticipation of his enemy's blood.

Kurtis suddenly stopped as the grin of Mariana became known to him. This is what she wanted, for him to be the cause of Lara's death.

His eyes focused away from the cruel smile and peered upon Lara. His blade instantly fell to his side with personal disgust.

"God Kurtis." Mariana began, teasing him with guilt "You could've had me."

Kurtis backed away as he heard the word's, hating himself for even considering harming Lara's fragile form. Mariana had done it. There was _no_ way to destroy her now, even in her newly stolen human form. Kurtis wouldn't allow it.

She was trapped inside Lara until killed, and even if the demon decided to abandon the shell, Lara would still be lost. It was hopeless. Lara was gone.

Kurtis watched as Mariana lifted herself from the floor and circled around, picking up her vacant sword from the ground.

He didn't care anymore. He welcomed death. _"No!" _his mind screamed. Lara wouldn't want him to give up. For _her_, he would_ never _give up.

He looked on with newly found hope as the demon charged forward. He watched her hand, forcing his eyes to followed it.

Everywhere that Mariana thrust her blade, it was met by his own.

Kurtis held the weapon vertically against his side as Mariana swiped at his waist. The black metal was deflected away, slight sparks streaming from its surface. She retaliated by spinning herself away from him, quickly forcing her blade to his other side, knowing that even _he_ was not fast enough to parry it in time.

Mariana smiled with assured victory as her blade hit it's surface.

The noise sounded, the noise she had heard a thousand timed in the previous minute, the sound of her attack being deflected away.

Kurtis's nostrils flared with anger and Mariana looked upon him with disbelief. His face grimaced with hate as he thrust his open palm forward, careful not to harm Lara, but nevertheless, sending the demon backward.

Mariana's attacks had failed. She lowered her blade and stared at Kurtis with admiration as she lifted herself from the floor. Her mind raced throughout Lara's body, thinking of a way to win, thinking of the _words_ that would push Kurtis over the edge, knowing that physical assaults would never be enough. She smiled as they came to her.

She looked to the man before her. An evil grimace appeared upon Lara's face as she spat the words. "Konstantine taught you well."

Kurtis's movement suddenly stopped. The words tore at his heart like a knife had enveloped his flesh. He felt his hands quiver with hatred as forsaken memories ran throughout his mind. He closed his eyes as the anger took him, his mind forgetting the demon's host, and his love for her. He gripped the sword tighter as he turned toward his tormenter with rage.

His teeth were clenched as he stared. He lunged toward the figure before him.

Mariana was taken without surprise at the figure rushing toward her. She stared at him, helplessly falling into her trap, coming closer and closer.

Lara's body instantly sidestepped as Kurtis was upon her. She lifted the blade and forced it outward, toward his position.


	37. Giving In

Chapter 37

Kurtis felt his knees hit the floor as a pain pulsated within his side. The rusted sword fell from his grasp, his hands grabbing at the source, feeling the dampness of blood upon his clothing.

He watched with regret as Mariana slowly walked toward him, a look of triumph in Lara's eyes. She placed her foot upon the iron clasp and kicked it back toward him.

"So that's your weakness," Mariana began, staring at Kurtis as he assisted himself to his knees. She slowly ran his hair through Lara's fingers, "your father."

Kurtis looked up toward her, toward the once brown eyes now red with satanic fire.

Her movements stopped, and she stared. "You would've killed me." her voice continued, with slight surprise. "You would've killed _her."_

"Never." The words spat lightly through his bloodied lips.

"On the contrary." She returned. "You _did_ attack me." She paused, and leveled her face to his own. "It's not as hard as you thought it would be, is it?" she stared at him with a serious face through Lara's emotions. "You know what must be done." she paused, returning to her full height. "_You_ must survive no matter the cost."

Kurtis helplessly watched as Mariana directed his hand toward the vacant blade.

"Pick it up." she demanded with subtlety, continuing her agonizing game. "Lara Croft is of no impor-"

"Kill me." Kurtis cut her off. "That's what you want, and you've tortured me enough." He stopped with unbearable sadness. "Lara's gone."

"So true." she stated, again with the playful tone.

"Kill Me!" Kurtis shouted, rage filling his voice. He felt the pain in his side slightly fade as another began to burn in his shoulder.

"Do you want to save your world!" Mariana shouted, no longer with gaiety but impatience. "The fate of this miserable planet lies in _your_ survival." She lifted the dark blade to his throat. "I _will_ kill you. Won't you defend yourself?"

Kurtis stared with the silence of rejecting her request as the anger took Mariana. She lowered the sword with disbelief.

"Not even for the sake of billions of innocent lives!"

"What's the point of living." Kurtis broke in, forgetting his silence. The new burning pain slightly took the breathe from his words. "Those _innocent lives_ have never done anything for me." he stopped, hate and sadness in his eyes at the image of Lara standing before him. "And the only thing I wanted you've taken from me."

Again the mocking smile came. "Mmm, I'm so sorry." Mariana stated with fake guilt as she gently pressed Lara's foot upon Kurtis's chest. "But like most living things, I care more about myself than some pathetic human," She paused, slight jealousy filling her voice. "or than idiotic feeling you call love." Mariana spat the words with contempt. She forced her foot forward with emphatic strength, which sent Kurtis to the ground. She lifted the sword and stared upon his bloodied figure. "You _are_ pathetic."

The coldness of the floor and the flaring of his shoulder numbed his wounded side. Kurtis felt a sudden pressure throughout his waist as Lara's body sat upon him.

He sighed with grief as he saw her in the intimate position, memories returning of his love for her, and of their night together. He slammed his head backward and into the floor as he saw Mariana smiling with the graceful curve of Lara's lips and the delicate stare of her eyes. He wanted to scream with the torment of not being able to hold her, and tell her the truth of how he felt toward her.

He gritted his teeth with anger toward himself for not protecting her. He watched with mental disgust as Mariana brought Lara's face toward his own.

"Is this familiar?" she asked with torturing words . "Is this the way she pressed her body against you in the motel?"

Kurtis tried to remain still as Lara's soft skin brushed against his body. Her legs spread wider as she thrust herself into his hips. Lara's teeth caressed her bottom lip as if pleasure ran throughout her body. Kurtis remembered the playful habit and almost forgot about the current situation. He stared at her eyes and came back to reality, there flamed color brightening as she smiled.

"Did she kiss you like this?"

Kurtis fought back tears as the delicate lips caressed his own, bringing memories of the woman he knew. He forced his lips to remain motionless, not wanting to please Mariana, though in his mind, he was depriving Lara.

"I think you really love her." Mariana spoke as she backed away. Slight sorrow entered her voice. "Never thought I'd see you cry over something so pointless."

Kurtis watched with faint hope as Mariana stared at him through Lara's eyes. He could sense sadness and slight guilt in her expression.

His hope was ended as the expression changed. He looked upon his death as Lara's hand clenched Mariana's blade.

"Last chance." she stated, tempting him to strike one last time. She lifted the blade at his silence and pointed it toward his weary flesh.

Kurtis was still, and ready for his fate.

Mariana forced the weapon down; the tip of the iron greedily waiting to reunite it's taste for blood.

The blade was slightly deflected as it neared his chest.

Kurtis cried out in turmoil as the metal entered his upper left arm, momentarily pinning it to the floor. He felt the pain fade as his shoulder continued to flare with anger, growing stronger as he screamed.

His suffering returned however, as the iron was ripped back through his arm.

Mariana stared at the dim light flowing from her victim's shoulder. "You think that pathetic brand can stop me?" She delivered the words with a questioning smile. "No matter how angry you get, it won't be enough" She stared at the tattoo, now glowing bright with fire. "Here's to your lineage."

Screams burst again from dying lungs as the blade sliced through new flesh and was ripped away once more.

Kurtis gripped his shoulder as the light faded back into the ancient marking, the brand now split apart along with the base of his stabbed flesh.

"Next time there won't be a scream!" Mariana shouted, again lifting the blade. Her fist were clenched tightly with anger and triumph.

Kurtis raised his bloodied figure, ready to receive the blackened blade. He lowered his arms to his side, only to feel the cold clasp of the rusted sword lying beside him.

Mariana smiled reluctantly as she stared at her fate, and her life's goal. Lara's eyes were upon him for the last time. "Goodbye" she quietly spoke through clenched teeth.

Kurtis felt sweat build upon his hand as he gripped the iron sword. His life had come to its end.

Mariana thrust Lara's arms down, and led the blade toward Kurtis's heart.


	38. The Final Battle

Chapter 38

Kurtis eyes were closed. He could see nothing but the darkness of his eyelids. He felt nothing, not the pain of his shoulder or a blade through his chest.

He heard nothing, no shouts of triumph or sighs of defeat. Kurtis didn't know what had happened, and he was afraid, afraid to open his eyes, afraid to see the truth of it all.

That's when he felt it. The warmth of a body, a limp body. He sensed the sword clasp in the grip of his hand, and the lucid blood flowing upon his arms.

The lids left trembling eyes as he looked upon the vision before him.

Kurtis gasped in horror as his senses met her form, the body of Lara Croft was lying on top of him, a rusted sword shoved through her waist.

He let out a sigh as he pulled her toward him. He had done the unthinkable, something he didn't mean to do, and he would never forgive himself for it. His mind was blank, completely taken by confusion, only knowing that he had reacted, reacted to the thought of being killed. He gasped with realization; he had sacrificed her life for his.

"_I had to."_ Kurtis's mind tried to ease his guilt and sadness. _"I never could have brought her back anyway. She was already dead. It had to be done. It was the only way to kill Mariana."_ He cursed the name as he stared at the blood upon his hands. He had killed _her_, not Lara. Lara was already gone. He would never have done it if there would've been a way to bring her back.

"_No."_ he gave up on self pity as he stared at her body. _"It's my fault, I should have protected her before Mariana took her, then none of this would've happened. It's my fault she's dead."_

The cold silence of death filled the room, and Kurtis wept.

He held his head down, eyes closed, afraid to look upon the woman he loved. He couldn't live with himself, not now, not after the sacrifice he had just made. _"Fuck the world." _he thought _"None of it matters anymore."_ The anger made him shake furiously, as he held Lara's limp body in his arms.

Kurtis suddenly opened his eyes with arched brows as he felt something move against his skin and run up his arm, the delicateness of fingers. He breathed spastically as a noise followed, a sweet familiar voice quietly calling "Kurtis?" in a light and shaky tone. Kurtis's eyes darted across the floor with fear and confusion. He dare not look up, terrified of the truth of what he had done, terrified to see the form upon him still alive.

A movement beside him caught his eyes.

The spirit of Mariana stood across the room, smiling in mockery at him. Her satanic form had returned as she watched him.

He let out a sigh of anger and fear of what she had forced him to do. Mariana _wasn't_ dead, she had left her host somehow at the last moment, before Kurtis had struck Lara's form "Oh God." he said lowly, with fear in his vocals. "That means that I killed-" he wouldn't let the words finish, refusing to accept them as a reality.

He quickly looked at the form sitting upon his waist, the form of Lara, now starring down at him with confusion. "Kurtis?" he heard her speak again. He painfully watched her grasp her waist. Her faced conformed with confusion as her fingers fell upon the blood that soaked her garments.

"What have you done?" she asked lowly, her body suddenly falling backward. Kurtis quickly grabbed her back and laid her onto the floor, pulling the iron slab from her waist.

Kurtis realized then what he truly had done. In an attempt to destroy Mariana, and save his own life, he had killed this gentle and beautiful creature, now dying in his arms. He didn't know that the demon could navigate out of its human host without killing it, so Lara had been slain for no purpose at all. He hadn't destroyed Mariana, he had destroyed Lara Croft.

He quickly and carefully dislodged the remaining sword tip from Lara's torso. He clenched his fist as he saw the wound; it was impossible. She had already lost too much blood, apparent from the wound itself, and Lara's eyes, constantly wavering in and out of consciousness as she stared at him.

He didn't care if it was impossible, he had to try anyway. He quickly locked his hands together and forcefully pressed them against her waist.

The sigh of pain Lara let out from the pressure caused Kurtis to cry out loud in sorrow and rage. He wrapped his hands around her head, and stared at her eyes, there brightness faded by the consumption of death. He heard her speak out at him again and forced himself to keep the stare. The fear and confusion in her eyes made Kurtis curse, and cry.

He pressed against her waist once again with desperation, ignoring the pain he was causing her body.

The effort came to no avail. "Fuck!" he screamed, as he pressed harder, one last time.

His movement stopped and he slowly removed his hands. He was only bringing pain to Lara, not life. He lowered his head in disappointment and shame as he felt a sudden coldness against his face.

He grabbed at it and felt Lara's hand, freezing with death. He gripped it between his own and looked at her with the same coldness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Kurtis told her, with tears streaming from inside. His voice lowered. "I'm sorry."

He watched as her brows arched and her lungs gasped from pain. He felt her opposite hand grip tightly around his sleeve as he held her in his arms, desperately trying to hold on to him, desperately trying to hold onto life.

"No." he coldly stated as Lara's head began to slowly fall backward. The grip upon his shirt suddenly loosened as her senses turned numb. "No!" he screamed as her final breaths soared into dying lungs, giving strength to her eyes, holding them open to stare at him and blame him for her demise.

"I love you." He stated as he leaned closer to her form. He stared at her with an unaffixed silence as Lara slowly faded from existence.

She stared at Kurtis with a pained smile before her body completely met with the floor beneath her. She didn't understand what had happened or why, but she knew that she was dying. Her eyelids trembled as she looked upon Kurtis's form for one last time. His previous words ran through her mind, completely interrupting the unknown pain than seared throughout her waist. She wanted to repeat the words, but they wouldn't come, her body wouldn't allow them to.

A sudden gasp flew from her lungs as the unbearable pain returned. The man before her, the man she loved, dissolved into a black slate as her eyes were slowly forced to close. The pain disappeared once again, this time, never to return.

Kurtis screamed with sorrow and rage at that moment. Lara was dead.

He buried his face in her neck, caressing her limp body, praying to the god whom he now hated, to bring her back to him. His sighs were muffled by the black shirt that lay before his face, then were interrupted by another noise, one he hated more than any god that had bestowed this horrible fate upon him.

"Didn't know I could do that, did you?" An evil voice sounded throughout the now echoing room. Kurtis clenched his fist at the sound as he slowly raised his eyes to meet the figure. The voice was horrid, plaguing his mind with its unhumored torture. It was _the _voice, the voice that had ruined his life so many time, first, by killing his mother, then again by aiding in the murder of his father, and now it had taken his heart and everything he had to live for, it had taken Lara.

Kurtis could feel his teeth on the verge of shattering as he clenched them together with rage. His breaths spastically entered his lungs as pain began to flow through his shoulder once again. The voice would die. He would kill it, for his parents, for himself, and above all else, for Lara.

Kurtis felt the clasp of the sword he had imbedded within her, at his side. He gripped it tightly, still drenched in the lucid blood of Lara Croft, as he slowly stood, his anger keeping him from moving with a quickened pace. He stared at the satanic figure before him, its form horrid once again, with blonde hair and ghastly features. His knuckles turned white as the voice came once more.

"No one ever told you, Kurtis?" Mariana spoke out sarcastically at the anger-filled eyes of the figure standing before her. "No one ever told you that I _could_ leave my host without killing it?" She smiled. "Do you really think I would've let you kill me?" she paused as she moved toward him and shoved her features into his face with mockery. "No. I was just having some fun, and fucking with your mind."

Kurtis stared at her without expression as she spoke. His body was numb as the injured tattoo upon his body suddenly began to burn.

He clenched the sword, knowing that he would use it. Though it wouldn't even injure the demon, it would provide some comfort, though no comfort would be great enough to cure the size of his loss.

He was ready to die, but not before he watched Mariana scream. He ignored the pain in his shoulder as it became unbearable and slightly dizzied his mind. Nothing was going to keep him from this, nothing was going to keep his from embedding the rusted sword in Mariana's heart for his own enjoyment.

"Didn't you have fun?" The creature asked as Kurtis began toward her, his body shaking at the words as his figure met Mariana's. "I mean, nothing is more enjoyable than physically killing the woman you love, and that_ is_ exactly what you did."

Sarcasm flew from her words and Kurtis slightly fell forward, he caught himself, the burning pain feeling as though he had burst into flames. He stared forward, angrier than ever before, so angry that his mind was blank, conformed into a savage animal, wanting only blood to flow from the creature before him.

Mariana smiled at his discomfort and sorrow. "Lara Croft is dead and _I_ am still alive." she paused as her face scowled. "She died for nothi-"

Mariana stopped as a feeling of warmth entered her chest, her features stalled as she stared forward. Kurtis was there, and his teeth were clenched. A sword was clasped between his hands, the blade emerging from his palms, and lunged through her body.

She had never seen Kurtis's expression held in such away. His features literally shook from rage, and his eyes were set forward as though he weren't human. She swore that a faint red glow circled within his pupils, rage literally filling his body.

She stared at him with surprise before bursting into a shout of laughter. She looked at him with sarcastic glee before turning the expression into anger.

She quickly ripped the blade from her chest, and spun it around turning the tip back toward Kurtis. She smiled as she lunged the blade forward directing it toward the final Lux Veritatis warrior's waist.

Mariana held the crooked grin as she stared at the form before her. She waited for his emotionless expression to change to that of pain and death at any moment. It did not. Kurtis was still as he stared toward her, no pain lined his face, only nothingness. She looked down with confusion, only to see her blade, not buried inside Kurtis waist, but waiting in front of it, somehow halted before entering flesh and bringing his death. She desperately pushed the sword forward to no avail, not understanding her stall.

It wasn't _her_ stall, something had stopped the blade's motion.

Mariana looked to Kurtis with fearful eyes as he began to speak.

"You killed her." he stated coldly as the rusted blade hovered at his waist.

Mariana tried to force the weapon forward once again. She could not.

"You killed my father," he paused as fear entered the movement of Mariana and she slowly backed away, "my mother," he continued as the demon frantically stepped away from him. She stared at him, unsure of what was to come. She dropped the sword out of fear of his words, "and now I'm going to kill _you_."

Mariana forced herself to show a fake smile, still lined with fear, as she raised her arms and closed her eyes. "Really?" she sarcastically and desperately asked. She focused her ancient powers and steadied her mind, absorbing the energies around her, strong enough to dispose of Kurtis Trent for good. Her body began to glow bright blue as she steadied the forces, and aimed her powers at the figure in front of her.

Kurtis stared t her, still holding the emotionless face. He felt his shoulder flame again as Lara's dead figure was seen through the corner of his eyes. Her life had been ended by _his_ hand, and the sorcery of the bitch standing before him. Anger took his mind as he spastically breathed.

He clenched his fists as an amazing fire seemed to fill the room around him, and his eyes turned red out of hatred. The tattoo at his side released the immense light that blinded Kurtis as he stared. He had never felt such a power within him before, all brought on by the anger and insane rage running throughout his body and mind.

It was happening again, just as it had happed 1400 years ago in a small village in Hippo Algeria to a man named Augustine.

Kurtis's _changing_ mind was interrupted as his eyes envisioned a large ball of blue light rapidly coming toward him.

Kurtis felt no pain, numbed by the fire that had inflamed his figure, he only felt his body moving, being thrown through the air, and then finally halted by the alter near the far wall, and then the wall itself.

Mariana smiled with triumph as she watched her energies strike Kurtis's form and send him flying across the room. His body connected hard with the stone wall, and Mariana knew that he was dead.

She laughed aloud at his foolishness as she rapidly walked toward the alter, anxious to finally see his dead body. She grimaced as she stepped over the lifeless form of Lara and hurriedly continued forward.

Mariana felt her already dead heart stop as she spotted the vision standing before her. An immense light flew from the space ahead, filling the room with flames, which spun violently around a central form. She stared at the figure within the fire with disbelief and fear.

Kurtis's eyes were red, his body ablaze as he stared at Mariana. His eyes were fixated upon her form, barely visible through the flames. He felt nothing but hate, the flames surrounding him mere air against his skin. He watched as Mariana lifted her arms again, ready to deliver another charge of energy to destroy him. He quickly raised his own as she did so, and focused his mind. He pushed his palm forward, and watched as the demons form followed the movement.

Mariana felt her body being thrown through the air as her powers were disrupted. She screamed out of anger and dread as her body connected hard with a side wall of the immense hall. She braced herself for the fall to the ground, but it never came. Her body instead, stayed elevated in the air and was tightly held to the wall by the newly found powers of the man before her.

Mariana felt a strange new feeling within her mind. She had never been terrified before, but she was now; the flaming figure across the room slowly made his way toward her. She stared at him with disbelief. All her sorcery had been rendered useless by one man, one man and his undying love for a woman.

Kurtis never moved his eyes from the figure held against the wall before him as he started toward the position.

He lowered his other hand, lifting his form as he reached the placement that Mariana was forced onto. He watched as her body began to fall toward him, and he quickly shoved it back into the wall as he reached its same height. He stared at the figure as he forced his hand into its waist.

He watched Mariana's eyes with hate and happiness as her face conformed with a new expression, pain.

He smiled as the form of the demon began to violently scream, the fire around his body passing to hers, scorching her flesh with its heavenly force.

A noise left his lungs as well. He began to scream as she did as his eyes met hers, the noises were identical and different in every way. Both lungs released the horror stricken noise of a pained scream, but one was not given out of pain, but from joy.

It was over for Kurtis, he had now done all that he ever had wanted to, enact his revenge upon the creatures that had ruined his life so many times. And all of it was completed with the death of one being, the demon before him.

Mariana violently jerked her head backward as her body was consumed with flames, she screeched loudly as the other wraiths had done when in contact with the Lux Veritatis brand.

Kurtis arched his brows with pain as the noise flew through the room. He forced his hand harder against the demon as the noise grew louder.

The sound suddenly ended, and Kurtis felt himself gasp as a new pain entered his body. He felt as though an extreme energy was being rushed throughout him.

The brand instantly burst into a flame brighter than any of the rest, and quickly receded toward him, returning to its dormant space inside of him.

Then it ended, and Kurtis felt himself fall backward as darkness consumed him.


	39. The Vial

Chapter39

Air entered once again through spastic lungs as consciousness returned to its aching body. Kurtis slowly opened his eyes as coldness filled the space around him. He prayed that the memories running through his mind had been a dream, and that he would roll over to find the sleeping Lara Croft lying beside him, gently breathing as life flowed through her body, waiting to awaken.

That's when the prayer was proven false.

Kurtis felt a dry substance across his hands as he opened his eyes to their full extent and took in the vision before him. He ran his fingers through the pile of black ash that graced the floor before him, and realized that his memories had not been a dream.

The remains of the wraith Mariana fell from his palms as he brushed the dust away.

Kurtis was still, afraid to move from fear that his eyes would meet the dead figure lying behind him.

The fears were stalled however, as a noise sounded beside him. A doorway in the room's side wall suddenly lifted itself open, granting entrance into its unknown contents. The sudden action was familiar somehow, much like the occurrences that would happen after his tests had been completed, after he had proven his honor to his past lineage. Kurtis closed his eyes, knowing what his test had been, and knowing that Lara Croft's body was behind him, dead and cold to the touch, an ultimate sacrifice that had granted his way toward the next sacred scroll, toward the Vial.

He cursed the horrid artifact, not caring if he found it, wishing he would die, wishing Mariana was still alive to kill him. He shook his head, disagreeing with himself. He had to know, had to understand what kind of power could be so important that the woman he loved had to be sacrificed, had to be murdered by his own hand.

He slowly lifted himself from the ground, ignoring the pain, he wasn't worthy enough to feel, not after the act he had recently completed. He slowly walked to the newly opened chamber, forcing his eyes to focus upon it, not wanting his eyes to meet the horrid reality that waited behind him, the reality that Lara was dead.

He forced the images away, bringing himself forward, toward his unwanted destiny.

His feet met the room's interior.

The space wasn't large enough to be classified as a room, a closet if anything. It was constructed of the same brown marble that plagued his mind with memories. Inside the space's center was a raised podium, identical to the ones he had found in Utah, Samandira, and the cemetery in Cerkezcoy. But this one was different, different in the way that-

He gasped. The podium was the same, but the object upon the podium was not. He saw no ancient piece of decayed paper, no sacred testament to his next objective, but his objective itself, the glass casing tightly closed by a golden cap, a thick red substance within its hollow, the Vial of Kindred Shadows.

Kurtis shook his head with confusion as he backed away. This couldn't be the true Vial, it was impossible. The knight at his past home had stated that five tests were to be completed in his search for the Vial. He had only completed four, those of Honor, Faith, Importance, and his fourth test having just been completed with the destruction of Mariana, the purpose behind it he wasn't sure, but nevertheless it had to be one of the test, otherwise he wouldn't have been given entrance to the newly opened chamber, to the Vial.

Something was wrong, something he had done, something he was supposed to do but hadn't. He placed his hands upon his head with confusion as he turned away.

Kurtis stopped, his body and mind had stalled, forgetting about the horrid image behind him, forgetting the reality that awaited once his surprise over the Vial had passed. He saw her, the limp body that he loved, the long legs and pale skin, now conforming into ghastly positions by the stillness of death, a death inflicted by him. He closed his eyes knowing that this moment had to take place, knowing that he had to confront his terrible act.

The eyelids parted, forcing him to look upon his destruction, his guilt forcing him to walk forward and take responsibility for what he had done, making him to want to kill himself.

Lara's dead body grew nearer as he continued forward, his gaze never wavering from her form. He stopped as he stood beside her, his feet only inches from her loosely held arms, a lone tear of sadness falling from his eyes, a tear saying goodbye, to himself as much as her.

He had made up his mind as he watched her stillness, made up the world's mind. He would end it, end it all without giving a fuck about the consequences. The Lux Veritatis had taken his life since the day he was born, and now they had taken the only thing he had to live for.

He grimaced with a fake smile; he would take it all back.

Kurtis closed his eyes as he turned away, more tears falling from his heightened emotions of sorrow and hatred. He returned to the small chamber that housed the object that his life had been created for, still confused by the means that it had appeared, how his final test had been completed.

He stopped with realization. Maybe his final test _hadn't_ been completed.

He stared at the lucid blood of Sir Augustine as it wavered before him, beckoning him closer, calling him to complete his destiny. He entered the small enclosure and cautiously directed his hands toward the object, being cautious out of habit, not fear; he didn't have fear anymore, simply because he didn't care.

His fingers graced the cool touch of glass as his hand wrapped firmly around the object taunting him, around the Vial of Kindred Shadows.

A weight seemed to physically lift from his shoulders as the artifact met his palm. He stared at the object he held as he backed away from the small chamber, a silence overcoming the space around him, the silence of peace.

But their was no peace, their would never be peace.

Lara was dead and his quest for the vial was not yet completed, though he held the object of his journey in his hand. His tests had not all been completed, one remained.

Kurtis teeth began to tightly clench at that moment as he stared at the vial and then turned back to Lara, back to his hatred. This wasn't going to happen, this couldn't happen.

He stared at the ceiling as rage consumed him, he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"What's my final test!" he screamed to no one, but hoping that someone would hear, someone not of this world. He looked back to Lara as he whimpered with sadness, "Walking away and letting her die!" he stopped as he slung his arm backward, his fist tightly wrapped around the glass vial ready to throw if forward, ready to watch with pleasure as the crystalline surface cracked upon the marble floor, ready to destroy the Veritatis hope just as they had destroyed him. He stared at the ceiling as he sighed. "Fuck you!"

Kurtis forcefully slung his hand forward, loosening his touch, releasing his fingers from their grip and letting the Vial-

His motions instantly stopped as his thumb met the outer surface of the glass tube, met something he hadn't noticed before, a roughened marking.

Kurtis cursed himself for not throwing the Vial and ending his torment, his curiosity had stalled his advance. He angrily lowered his hand as he studied the artifact.

A slight indentation graced the casing's side; it was lettering, a sentence marked their for him to read. He followed his elders wishes, translating the verse that tortured him so. "Revive the Veritatis through the blood of the founder."

The information was pointless, just fucked-up gibberish that his ancestors had thought was important

Kurtis shook his head as he slung his arm back once again, nothing would stop him this time, nothing would stop him from destroying-

His motions stopped, this time stalled by more than a physical feeling, this time from a mental one. He lowered his hands once again as his mind reflected, reflected on the words that had just been delivered from his mouth, words that created assumptions that should never be proven false, the disappointment would be to great.

"Revive." he repeated the words of the indentation aloud, "Revive."

Kurtis gripped the Vial tightly as he turned to Lara, hopeful ideas and thoughts making themselves known, ideas that couldn't possibly be wrong, but more of ideas that _had_ to be right.

He ran to her limp from, even beautiful in its horrid state of death. He leaned down to her, lifting her upper body in his arms, cradling her against his chest as he stared at the Vial with rising hope, praying that his thoughts would prove correct.

Kurtis stared at the gaping wound within her waist, her shirt covered in blood as the lucid essence of death continued to pour from the fatal injury, slow to thicken. He held her body firmly as he pressed her forehead against his cheek, softly whispering his words of love though he knew she couldn't hear them.

He stared at the Vial in his palm as he smiled. What did he have to lose? Even if the Vial had to be used on a living being, he was going to destroy it anyway.

Kurtis bit his lip with anxiousness as he pulled away the golden cap that sealed the ancient glass casing, the cap that kept the blood of Sir Augustine from rotting over the past 1400 years.

He looked back to the wound at Lara's waist as he breathed spastically from anxiousness, from fear. The wound was a direct route into the blood stream, a direct root to reviving the Lux Veritatis, to possibly reviving the woman he loved.

His hands shook fiercely as he lowered the vial to her waist, carefully stretching Lara's wound with his other hand, opening her stomach further, making sure that no incidents could occur.

He looked back to her features as he lovingly kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry." he spoke lowly knowing what his act would do, knowing that it may bring her to life and knowing that that life would drastically change, knowing that she would become one of him, something that he hated though he owned the title himself, a Lux Veritatis.

Kurtis nodded his head, agreeing with his assumptions. He wasn't being selfish, this was something he had to do, something to regain his dependence in himself, and rid his hatred.

Kurtis closed his eyes, breathing heavily as he tipped the surface of the opened vial, tipped it toward the opening at Lara's waist, pouring the ancient blood into a new container, a permanent placement, combining the bloods of Sir Augustine and Lara Croft.


	40. Reawakened

Chapter 40

Kurtis stared at the body that lye beside him in the back seat of the Jeep he had stolen from the wraiths after leaving the Veritatis cavern. He had left that horrid place with slight hope that his wishes would be granted, Lara Croft would return to liveliness, and his goals would be completed, the wraiths destroyed, along with whoever was controlling them's hopes of taking over the world.

His hope had completed faded now however; the body hadn't moved, not a mere inch from the position he had left it in. And there was absolutely no chance that he had missed that rare movement, solely because he had been staring at the body for over four hours, never taking his eyes away from Lara Croft since the second he had injected the sacred blood into her system.

Her face was pale, still cold as ever, still completely silenced with the rapture of death.

Kurtis closed his eyes as he sighed, giving up on hope, cursing it. It was completely gone now, all of it. Nothing was going to come from his pitiful act of trying to save her. And he was the one to blame.

He laced his fingers within her own, knowing that the action wouldn't come, knowing that she would remain still no matter how long he waited by her side.

He nodded, accepting it, though inside he knew that the pain would never go away, the pain of treating her terribly just before her death, the pain of keeping secrets from her the entire time he knew her, and the pain of being the one who thrust the blade forward, the one responsible for her demise. His acceptance of it all would have to be taken however. She _was_ dead, and the Vial hadn't worked. There was nothing he could do. It was over.

He leaned toward her and kissed her forehead, a final goodbye to the woman he loved, a final pointless expression of his sorrow over her-

He stopped. There was something their, something he hadn't seen before, something he wouldn't have seen for the fact that it _couldn't_ be seen, but could only be felt. His motions were still, waiting for the feeling to return, waiting-

It happened again, the strange feeling, the feeling of warmth against his neck, the feeling of breath, exhaled air from a living being, a person not plagued with death but a person filled with life, the person lying before him, the person he was kissing out of love.

She was alive.

He gasped. Had it truly been real? The feeling? Was it an actual sign of life from Lara's body? A sign that she wasn't dead, but alive?

He quickly backed away from her, staring at her lips, watching for a movement of any kind, hoping that the warmth of breath hadn't been a mere manifestation of his hope.

Silence filled the space around him as his eyes stood wide open, glaring with desperation, waiting for Lara to breathe once agai-

Kurtis stopped, his emotions taken by happiness and surprise. A new feeling had arose, one he could see_ and_ feel, a proof of his assumptions, proof that the breath had not been in his mind.

It was simply pressure that had caused his joyous sigh, pressure against his hand that was laced with another, that _another_ being the hand of Lara Croft.

Her fingers squeezed tightly around his palm as her face conformed into one of discomfort, her palm squeezing so tightly that her fingernails began to dig into the flesh of Kurtis's hand.

He didn't care. He loved it, loved the pulsating pain that dwelled within his palm because it was a sign that Lara was alive, a sign that the Vial had saved her, the _he_ had saved her. He stared at her face, at the expressions of life she held, her features conforming from discomfort and pain to serenity and calmness once again. He smiled with undescribable happiness as she loudly sighed, a sign that previously vacant air had returned once again to her lungs, filling her body with life.

Kurtis suddenly gasped as he watched her eyes, her lashed beginning to flutter, her eyes ready to open, ready to see the world once again.

He laughed aloud as he watched her, the sight like a new born child being brought into the world, only more joyous if such a feeling was possible.

The lids left their placement as her eyes opened widely, another gasp leaving her lungs as her upper body slightly rose.

A tear streaked Kurtis's cheek as his eyes met hers. She stared at him, her features forming into those of confusion, confusion over why she was here, confusion over her awakening from an eternal sleep.

She was alive.

Lara gripped Kurtis's hand tightly before her body returned to its place upon the vehicles seat, unconsciousness taking her mind.


	41. Epilogue

Chapter 41 (Epilogue)

Three days later

"I finished my assignment." Kurtis spoke into the payphone receiver held loosely in his hand. "I got the Vial, so I don't want to hear anymore shit out of you bastards."

"I'm afraid Mr. Trent," another voice sounded on the connections receiving end. It was slightly older with its heritage, and quiet, on the verge of a whisper yet loud in its commanding presence. "that you will be hearing from us _bastards_, until an actual elder is created." The voice paused as if in thought and speculation. "Bring the Vial to the church in Istanbul, and we can sort things out for you and your future child."

Kurtis was silent at the words, knowing the truth that would have to be told, knowing that his superior would not want to hear it. "I can't" He spoke firmly.

"And why is that?" The man asked, more jokingly and confused than angered.

Kurtis spoke with hesitance and breathed deeply, afraid of the reaction he would receive. "I don't have it anymore."

"What!" the man questioned with fear and rage, desperation in his voice. "You lost it!"

"No." Kurtis simply answered him.

"Then what happened! Where is the Vial!"

Kurtis paused as he closed his eyes, forcing the words to appear, "I used it."

Kurtis could sense a change in the man named Daquord's attitude though his voice was silent. The tension changed from fear of the Vial being lost, to rage at Kurtis's statement.

Daquord's words came softly however, hoping that he had heard the young demon hunter wrong. "Mr. Trent, you know full well that this organization does not take well to practical jokes."

Kurtis faked a smile though no one could see him, "That's why I never make one."He paused "I fell in love and she died, so I used the Vial to revive her.

"You _used_ it?" The man repeated the words sullenly, though his thoughts were the opposite. "May I ask the woman's name?"

"Her first name's Lara." Kurtis spoke quickly, then wished he hadn't. "And that's all you're gonna get."

A silence returned at the words. The slightly aged man was taking the time to comprehend what he had just been exposed to, his thoughts quickly changed from understanding to evil. "Listen to me." Daquord firmly threatened, though his voice was still low. "You have no idea the possible horrors you may have unleas-"

"I don't understand the problem." Kurtis lashed out with confusion and impatience. "In order for me to have a child, I _have_ to have a woman. I just did what was necessary to finish what I started because I lov-"

"She is not the one!" The man then yelled with frustration and slight worry, the noise aching Kurtis's ears and creating even more confusion in them both.

"The one? What do you mean?"

"Did you ever consider Mr. Trent, that you were not the true Veritatis savior, that your wife would be?" the man paused, letting the words sink in. "And _that_ _wife_ was not meant to be Lara Croft!"

Kurtis stared at the ground, brows arched at Daquord's final word, "How did you know her last name?" Fear entered his mind.

"That is not important."

"I think it _is_!"

"No!" the man stopped the argument. "What is important is that this misunderstanding can be corrected." His voice paused with thought. "Bring this _Lara_ to me. We may still be able to use the Augustine blood on the real woman you were meant to feed it into."

Fear erupted again in Kurtis. "How could you? The blood's been used."

"The Vial's blood is not restricted to a certain type, and therefore can be placed in anyone." He paused. "A complete blood transfusion should work."

Kurtis felt his jaw slightly drop with realization. "No." he spoke sternly with anger. "A procedure like that would take a blood type that matched Lara's. You'd never be able to get that amount of blood, so it's impossible."

"And why do we care whether Lara Croft receives the other end of the transfusion?"

Kurtis shook his head, his teeth clenched. They were going to kill her. "You stay the fuck away from us."

"I'm afraid that isn't going to happen. You have ruined-"

"Lara is a fucking woman just like whoever the hell you want me to have. She is just as capable to-"

"The prophecy does not-"

"Fuck the prophecy!" Kurtis screamed. "I love her! And you are not gonna take her from me like you've done everything else in my life!"

The phone slammed into the receiver as Kurtis's emotions turned to anger. They knew who Lara was and they would come for her. He didn't understand. What was Daquord talking about the _chosen one_, not him but a woman? It made no sense. If he wasn't-

It didn't matter, what mattered was Lara, what mattered was keeping her alive. He quickly left the glass booth upon the street corner, and made his way back toward the small hotel at the end of the city block. Lara was inside, her mind in the dark of unconsciousness, expecting nothing, with no idea of what was to come.

(-)

The older man with the dark set eyes calmly hung up the phone as the line was disconnected, knowing the warrior Kurtis Trent's anger. He couldn't muster a smile, his fear of the future made his sternness more defined. He retrieved the receiver once again, dialing a new number, one he hadn't dialed in ages.

"Hello." A cracked voice sounded, blistered with age and cruelty.

"I've been in contact with Kurtis Trent." Daquord spoke. "I'm afraid I have bad news Sir."

The line was silent, the man on the opposite end not granting himself assumptions, he had no time for them.

"He's used the Vial on Lara Croft." Daquord continued. "After she'd died, he revived her."

The pause continued from the mysterious man known simply as _Sir_, a pause that was created out of anger and thought, both controlled with temperance. But the silence was short-lived. "You know what must be done."

"Yes Sir." Daquord answered the statement. "I'll dispatch the priest to retrieve Miss Croft immediately."

The line went dead once again.

(-)

Kurtis quickly entered the hotel room as quietly as possible. He shut the door behind him, the cold night air sending a chill across his skin. He turned, staring at the bed in the center of the room, upon it, a face-down body, one, if considered by motion, was dead. Lara had been unconscious for three days, never stirring whatsoever since the Augustine blood had entered her system. He walked to her, gently placing his hand upon the side of her cheek. He was afraid of her, afraid of what she would think of him once she awoke, once she realized what she had become. He didn't care what she did, not even is she killed him. Just seeing her alive and breathing would be worth it, his conscious becoming clear would be worth it.

His hand slid down her back, slightly lifting her shirt with his fingers, her fair skin exposed, its color now fully returned. His fingertips caressed the healed scar where a blade had once resided, a blade placed there by him. His hand continued further down, and then stopped, halted upon the circular figure quartered by a cross, the cursed brand that the Lux Veritatis were forced to bare. The ancient marking shown clearly against Lara's pale skin. She was one of him, and she was alive. It was a reality.

Kurtis closed his eyes, cursing himself. Wouldn't she be better off dead? Better off without thousands of dark entities hunting her down, not to mention the wraiths, and soon the men he worked for, the priests of the Veritatis order, Daquord, a man he could once call his friend, but never again.

He felt selfish, knowing that Lara's life would never be the same, never be as the tomb raider would want it to be. She had no idea the horror that was about to come, but he would protect her, protect her from all of the evil he had caused.

After all, he loved her.

(-)

The wraith gripped its stomach as it walked rapidly up the stairs of the Culdas Cathedral in Zurich. Blood flowed heavily from the wound within its waist, caused by the shotgun of a former target, a woman with a braid and impeccable aim. He stumbled to the church's immense doors, forcing them open with his weight. The wraith could feel the life slowly waning from its host; he had to hurry.

The demon paced quickly through the arched hallway, its eyes meeting a hooded form at the distant side of the long corridor. The creature forced its host forward, dying though it felt no pain. He neared the superior figure, its back to him. The wraith stopped as he bowed his head. "Master." He spoke through blood stained teeth.

The hooded figure raised his head, the dead body of a priest beneath him, and another in a nearby corner. The man turned to the wraith that kneeled behind him, slightly unsure of it's unfamiliar face. "Where is Mariana?"

The demon winced as it's host sputtered up blood "Dead." it spoke quickly, then rushed its next sentence before the_ Master_ could become angry. "But she finished the assignment. She forced the Trent warrior to ruin the Veritatis prophecy."

The hooded figure's eyes glared fiercely at the creature's words. He thrust his hand forward, tightly gripping the wraith's throat, ending its statement. "Where is the Vial!"

"He used it!" the wraith could barely speak through the crushed windpipe.

"He used it!" the wild eyed figure screamed. "I ordered that you retrieve the Vial, not let him use it! Your insolence has caused my ruin! I shall never have the blood of Augustine!"

"No." the wraith spoke desperately. "He used it on a woman!" The words stalled, trying to regain oxygen to help them form. "You could easily find this fare and have a child my master! That way the Veritatis and the Nephilim can still become one! Just as you'd planned!"

"I don't have the time!" the angered man tightened his grip before quickly releasing it. He pushed forward forcefully, throwing the demon to the floor. "It will take nearly a year for a child to be born." the figure cursed with anger as he turned back toward the whimpering figure before him, casually stepping over the body of the priest he had murdered while _purifying_ the church. "What was this woman's name?"

The demon paused with recollection as it coughed through sore throat muscles. "Lara Croft."

The hooded figure froze at the words. He knew the name. He knew the long braided hair and the full lips, the lithe body and the brown eyes. The description belonged to a figure who had been reported to him as dead. He thought that the Veritatis prophecy had called for her demise; he must have been wrong.

The Master smiled at the vision, his mind instantly changed. He would enjoy Lara Croft's help in creating his crossbreed of good and evil. He would enjoy it very much. The figure turned back to the frightened demon, and quickly gripped the creature's waist. Sacred words left his lips as ancient mysticism ran from his mind to the injured wraith's stomach. The bullet wound instantly sealed. He looked into the creature's eyes. "Gather the twins Gabriel and Jendine." he paused as he turned away. "Bring the Croft woman to me."

The sound of footsteps rapidly sounded behind the shadowed figure as the wraith frantically left his side. He stared forward for a moment, his mind swarming with malignant thoughts, thoughts more than pleasing to his twisted ways. His hands met the black and red satin hood that fell evilly across his forehead. He slowly pushed it back, revealing his slightly distorted features and his short blond hair.

An anxious and hopeful emotion entered the _Master's_ mind.

Karel smiled.

**A/N: TO BE CONTINUED...someday. I hope you guys really like this story, and I'm so happy to have finally finished it after 2 years of working on it. The end wasn't a big surprise I know, but I had some good ideas for the sequel, if I ever get to it. Thanx to everyone who got all the way through it, I know it's rather lengthy. I'm interested to know what parts you liked and didn't like, so please post them up! Thanx again!**


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